Maritime Super Pty Ltd has paid $26,640 to comply with two infringement notices issued by ob体育. The notices concerned alleged misleading statements made to members about Maritime鈥檚 investment partnership with Host-Plus Pty Ltd (Hostplus).
In a Significant Event Notification and a newsletter sent to members between March and June 2021, Maritime stated that its investment partnership with Hostplus would result in reduced overall investment management fees for its members.
ob体育 was concerned that these statements were misleading because Maritime鈥檚 investment partnership resulted in increased investment costs for 77 per cent of Maritime members and higher investment fees for six of Maritime鈥檚 11 investment options.聽
ob体育 Deputy Chair Sarah Court said, 鈥楾he superannuation industry is going through a period of consolidation and change. As such, it is crucial that consumers and fund members are provided accurate information so that they can make informed decisions about their super. In this case, we were concerned that Maritime members may have been misled by the communications about fees.鈥�
鈥榦b体育 has a number of regulatory tools to address alleged misconduct where we are concerned that consumer harm may occur, including the issuing of infringement notices. We remain focused on protecting consumers鈥� interests and will take enforcement action where necessary to ensure that superannuation trustees comply with their obligations to provide accurate information to members,鈥� concluded Ms Court.
In August 2021, at ob体育鈥檚 request, Maritime issued a corrective disclosure to members, confirming that some Maritime members may face higher investment fees and costs as a result of the investment partnership.
Maritime paid the infringement notice penalties on 22 April 2022.聽 Payment of an infringement notice is not an admission of a contravention of the ob体育 Act consumer protection provisions.
Background
In April 2021, Maritime , which resulted in its investment assets being transferred to Hostplus鈥� Pooled Superannuation Trust.