Self Invest terms and conditions

When we say "we", "us", "our", or "the Trustee", we mean Australian Retirement Trust Pty Ltd.

We reserve the right to amend these terms and conditions at any time, at our sole discretion. If the change is material, we will post a notice on our website along with the new terms and conditions.

All investment instructions relating to your cash, Australian shares, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and term deposit holdings within Self Invest must be submitted through Member Online. Instructions provided by any other method will not be valid or accepted under any circumstances. We may reject an investment instruction at our sole discretion in the exercise of our obligations as trustee. We are also not liable for any loss or damage from a rejection of an instruction or delays in executing an investment instruction for any reason.

Access to Self Invest may be restricted or unavailable from time to time due to scheduled or unscheduled outages. Where possible, we'll give you prior notice of outages.

We will not be responsible for any delay or failure to process orders or investment instructions you provide, as a result of outages whether they are scheduled or unscheduled.

We reserve the right to restrict or revoke your access to Member Online or Self Invest at any time. This means you will not be permitted to transact and all investment instructions previously provided to us, including those relating to transfer requests and Dividend Reinvestment Plans (DRPs) are automatically revoked.

If your access is restricted, we will attempt to contact you to inform you of the terms of those restrictions.

Your investment in Self Invest is subject to investment risk. We do not guarantee the investment performance of the QSuper Accumulation or Retirement Income account or the repayment of capital. This means investing in Self Invest could result in loss of income or the capital invested. There is more information on the risks associated with investing in the Self Invest investment option in the Investment Choice Guide (pdf).

Self Invest gives you access to comprehensive research and market commentary to help you manage your investments. However, none of this information is intended to be, or should be construed as, personal financial product advice. You should consider whether the information provided is appropriate to you, taking into consideration your objectives, circumstances, and needs. If you are in any doubt, you should seek advice from a qualified financial adviser.

Market and exchange data made available to you in the Self Invest option is provided by UBS Securities Australia Limited (UBS).

This market and exchange data is made available to you in accordance with the conditions and disclosures contained in the market and exchange data, and UBS' Financial Services Guide (FSG) is provided on UBS' website at www.ubs.com/qsuper-psgfsg. (Please note: this constitutes that you have been provided with the UBS FSG.)

We are not responsible for the information provided by UBS on this site, other sites owned by UBS or third party information that may be accessed through Member Online or any other website used in relation to Self Invest.

This applies whether the link is provided by us, UBS or by any other third party and we make no judgement, representation or warranty about the suitability, accuracy or timeliness of the content on those websites or the market and exchange data.

By providing access to other websites, we are not recommending or endorsing any brand, products or services offered by the provider of the linked website. Investments in any financial products mentioned on those websites are at your own risk and we are not liable in any way regarding those investments.

All assets held in the Self Invest option are held by the Trustee (Australian Retirement Trust Pty Ltd) as trustee for Australian Retirement Trust, and registered in the name of Northern Trust, as custodian for the Trustee.

The custodian is also appointed to exercise any voting rights attached to shares and ETF units. The Trustee has complete discretion over how it votes on any matter.

To be eligible to invest in Self Invest you must hold the minimum balance of $20,000 in a QSuper Accumulation or Retirement Income account at the time of the initial transfer. Self Invest is not available for members holding a Transition to Retirement Income account.

To transfer to and from Self Invest, visit Member Online and click on Change investment mix. Any money added to your QSuper accounts cannot be invested directly into Self Invest. They first need to be credited to another QSuper investment option within your Accumulation account and then transferred to Self Invest via Member Online.

After an initial transfer of $5,000, you need to keep a minimum balance of $500 in your Self Invest transaction account at all times. If your account does fall below $500, we will contact you through your nominated email address. If no action is taken after 30 days – and you do not hold any shares, ETFs, or term deposits – we may remove your access to or close your Self Invest account and return any remaining balance to your other QSuper investment options. You can always choose to re-open your Self Invest account at a later stage.

If no action is taken after 30 days and you do hold shares, ETFs, or term deposits, we will, on your behalf, bring the transaction account to the minimum balance of $500.

The interest earned on the balance in your transaction account is subject to change. View the current interest rate.

Liquidation of investment assets

The circumstances when we may liquidate your holdings in Self Invest include:

• Total and permanent disability
• Terminal medical condition
• Death
• Divorce or separation¹
• Severe financial hardship²
• Compassionate grounds³
• To restore your transaction account to above the required balance limit
• A corporate action event which results in the issue of foreign shares
• To maintain the Self Invest product rules (e.g. ongoing balance requirements and assets available) of your Accumulation and/or Retirement Income account which is required while you are invested in Self Invest.

In the event that liquidation of your holdings is required, we may remove your access to Self Invest, and/or transfer the amount we determine at our sole discretion to meet any balance shortfall or payment in the following order:

• Available funds in your transaction account, then
• From QSuper investment options, in proportion with your current holdings, then
• From shares/ETFs held in your Self Invest account starting with the highest value share, then
• Through the redemption of any term deposits.

The timing of any liquidation of assets within your Self Invest option will be completed at our sole discretion with any applicable fees and tax deducted from your account.

Withdrawals cannot be processed directly from Self Invest, so when it comes time to withdraw funds from your QSuper Accumulation or Retirement Income account (as applicable), you will need to ensure those funds are held in other QSuper investment options.

It is important to make sure you have sufficient funds available in your other QSuper investment options before submitting your withdrawal claim form. You must also hold an amount of $10,000 in your Accumulation account or 13 months of income payments in your Retirement Income account before submitting your withdrawal claim form.

If you have insufficient funds to process the claim, we’ll attempt to contact you to let you know.

You can only invest in the term deposits listed in the Self Invest Investment Menu. More detail about each term deposit is available in the product disclosure documents issued by each term deposit provider, which is available from the term deposit provider’s website.

We are not responsible for the reliability, accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of any information provided by term deposit providers, including interest rate information and product disclosure documents. 

We are also not responsible or liable for any loss or damage for a delay in processing any term deposit orders. The rates available from each term deposit provider are available on the 'Invest' page of Self Invest, and are updated (by the provider) each Thursday by 4pm (Sydney time).

The cut‑off time for placing (and cancelling) orders for term deposits through Self Invest and having them processed the next working day is 3.59pm Sydney time. Term deposit orders received after 3.59pm Sydney time on a working day will be considered as having been placed on the next working day. Orders placed on a non-working day will be considered received on the next working day.

Term deposits are not redeemable before maturity, except (at our discretion) when you satisfy one of the following conditions:

• Total and permanent disability
• Terminal medical condition
• Death
• Divorce or separation¹
• Severe financial hardship²
• Compassionate grounds.³

If you meet one of these conditions, you can apply for early redemption by calling us on 1300 360 750.

At maturity or early redemption of a term deposit, the capital and all accrued interest will be credited to your transaction account (less an allocation for tax), unless you instruct us to reinvest these amounts in a new term deposit on your behalf.

The minimum and maximum investment limits that apply to the purchase of term deposits are outlined in the Investment Choice Guide (pdf).

Term deposits available through Self Invest are not covered by the Federal Government’s financial claims scheme under the Banking Act 1959 (Cth) as they are not held on separate trust for each member. This financial claims scheme will only apply to superannuation fund members if the trustee holds bank deposits with an approved authorised deposit‑taking institution (ADI) on separate trust, which it treats as different ‘account‑holders’.

General ASX rules apply to shares you invest in through Self Invest.

The following terms also apply to share and/or ETF investments:

• You cannot buy and sell the same share/ETF on the same trading day.
• You are limited to one open buy or sell order per share or ETF at any one time.
• The maximum that you can invest in a single share is 25% of your total Accumulation or Retirement Income account balance. View the maximum exposure to each single ETF at the time of transaction.
• The maximum that you can invest in total in shares and ETFs is 85% of your total Accumulation or Retirement Income account balance.
• The minimum buy order (not including under a DRP or through a corporate action) is $1,500.
• The maximum value of any single order is $250,000.
• You must comply with the limits, trading rules, DRP and corporate action requirements set out in the Investment Choice Guide (pdf).
• If you place a buy order, monies required to fund the order will be reserved in your transaction account until settlement of the order occurs.
• All buy orders are limited to the amount of cash you have available in your transaction account (in excess of the $500 transaction account minimum that must be maintained at all times) and any unsettled sell orders.
• You cannot cancel more than 3 orders in a share/ETF per trading day.
• Any limit order filled between 4.00 - 4.10pm Sydney time on a trading day will be treated as being completed on the following business day.
• In the event you submit an at-market order, the buy or sell price of the share will be that which is confirmed by the ASX.
• If your company share drops out of the S&P/ASX 300, even though you can retain the holding, you will be unable to purchase additional shares until the company again appears in the S&P/ASX 300.
• In the event that a corporate action could result in the breach of a Self Invest product rule (such as the issue of foreign shares), we may take remedial action to prevent this from occurring, and will determine the value of any cash payment you may be eligible for instead.
• During trading hours (including the pre-open and pre-close phases), the current market price is based on the lowest ask price (for buy orders) or the highest bid price (for sell orders). Self Invest does not use an indicative price.
• Price quotes (including prices displayed on watchlists) are delayed by at least 20 mins. You can request a live (real-time) quote prior to implementing a trade. When the market is closed, the previous closing price is used.
• Return calculations use the previous day's close price (not the current market price).
• All orders are executed in accordance with ASIC Market Integrity and ASX rules.
• If a listed security is in a trading halt for an extended period of time (e.g. in the process of liquidation, being delisted, administration, or a merger/restructure), the Self Invest platform may show a zero value until:
  • They resume trade, or
  • A corporate action event re-values the security, or
  • We determine a fair value in order to close your Self Invest account.

You will be notified about corporate actions relevant to your Self Invest holdings through Self Invest. We reserve the right not to make all corporate actions available to members and will determine the availability of corporate actions at our sole discretion. Please refer to the Investment Choice Guide (pdf) for more details.

You will need to provide us with instructions regarding any current elective corporate actions via Member Online by the member deadline specified in the Self Invest platform, which is usually earlier than the market deadlines published in the ASX announcement.

Where corporate actions require funding from your transaction account these are subject to the sufficient cash being available in your transaction account (in excess of the minimum balance required).

Some corporate actions have a maximum limit (or cap) on the amount of shares you can participate in or be provided under that company’s corporate action. In this case, shares allocated to us as part of the corporate action will be distributed in Self invest on a pro-rata basis. In other words, you will receive an allocation based on the proportion of our total holding of that share that you hold.

You may elect to participate in DRPs on a per share basis. Should you choose to participate in a DRP for a particular share/ETF which does not offer DRP, you will automatically receive a cash dividend instead.

You may update your DRP election at any time.

Orders to buy or sell shares and/or ETFs first need to be validated by our broker and will normally be passed to market on successful validation. We do however reserve the right to reject any order.

In the case of intraday suspensions of any share or ETF product, orders will be implemented when trading resumes. Instructions will automatically lapse if trade resumes outside of the period of time you nominated when you submitted an order (for example where you nominate either Good for Day or Good for Month and the time elapses before trading resumes).

We are not liable for any loss or damage from the rejection of an order or in relation to any treatment of or failure to participate (in full or in part) in any corporate action.

We aim to complete any transfer between QSuper investment options and Self Invest on a T+2 basis, meaning that the process will be completed in 2 working days from the date your valid request is submitted. The unit price applied reflects the net asset value on the day the switch is submitted.

However, the transfer or switch between QSuper investment options and Self Invest option may take up to 5 days. This is at our sole discretion.

While additional days of interest are earned in the transaction account during the transfer from Self Invest to the QSuper investment options this will be deducted from the transferred funds after being invested into the QSuper investment options (as you are not entitled to receive these).

Shares or ETFs you hold outside of the Fund cannot be transferred into the Self Invest option.

You can transfer a portion of your funds from QSuper investment options to the Self Invest option, provided you meet the minimums outlined in the Investment Choice Guide (pdf).

When transferring funds from Self Invest, your funds will be apportioned between your QSuper investment options proportionally based on your current balances.

You will not be able to make a partial transfer if:

• The Self Invest option is in the process of closing, or
• An existing transfer is still being processed, or
• It is contradictory to QSuper policy.

You can request to close your Self Invest option only after you’ve disposed of any shares and ETF holdings, your term deposits have matured and any pending settlements, dividends, or distributions have been received and credited to your transaction account.

When your Self Invest option is closed, the proceeds of your final transfer will be invested in proportion with your current QSuper investment option allocation.

Once you have instructed us to transfer all your funds out of Self Invest, you will not be permitted to transact on the amount invested in the Self Invest option and the access fee will cease to be charged.

You also will not be able to access Self Invest to generate reports or view historical transaction details relating to your Self Invest option. You can contact us to request a copy of past reports.

When closing your Self Invest option, should a share in your portfolio be delisted, we will determine a value for that share (at our discretion) and credit that amount to your account.

In the event of your death, all your funds in Self Invest will be liquidated and transferred in proportion with your existing QSuper investment option/s (outside of Self Invest). The timing of this transfer is at our sole discretion.

You may request to transfer Self Invest investment assets held in an Accumulation account to a Retirement Income account as part of opening a Retirement Income account.

When making this transfer, Self Invest investment assets will be transferred to the Self Invest Retirement Income account without being sold (listed securities) or redeemed (term deposits).

You may only request a transfer to the Retirement Income account totalling 100% of the balance in the Self Invest option in the Accumulation account. Partial transfers are not available.

There can be no transfers to a Retirement Income account where any of the following circumstances exist:

• Unsettled Self Invest transactions
• Listed securities with non-income corporate actions
• The Accumulation account is in the process of closing or a partial transfer to or from Self Invest option to other options within your Accumulation account is in progress
• At our discretion.

If we are unable to process your request to transfer to a Retirement Income account, we will contact you.

You cannot transfer the Self Invest option in your Retirement Income account to an Accumulation account. If you would like to do this you must request to close your Self Invest option first (see the Investment Choice Guide (pdf)), which can only be requested after your term deposits have matured, you dispose of any shares and ETF holdings and any pending settlements, dividends, or distributions have been received and credited to your transaction account.

An allocation for the Fund's tax liability will be deducted at the rate of 15% from Accumulation accounts on income related transactions such as interest, dividends and trust distributions.

No allocation for the Fund's tax liability applies to Retirement Income account earnings.

Any allocation for tax on earnings is deducted from your transaction account on a daily basis.

An allocation for the Fund's capital gain tax (CGT) liability is attributed to Accumulation accounts as follows:

• Securities held for 12 months or longer will be deducted at a discounted rate of 10%, and
• Securities held less than 12 months will be deducted at the rate of 15%.

No allocation for the Fund's capital gains tax liability will be made on Income accounts. Any allocation for the Fund's tax liability is deducted from members’ transaction accounts quarterly, or when a Member closes their Self Invest option (whichever is earlier).

CGT allocation is calculated using the net capital gain or capital loss attributable to you from the start of the financial year, incorporating any carried forward capital loss amounts previously attributed to you from the previous financial year. This allows previous quarter capital losses to be included.

When you exit the Self Invest option in the Accumulation account (including transfer to the Retirement Income account), a tax benefit of 10% of the value of any realised net capital losses attributed to you following the final CGT allocation may be credited to your account (at our sole discretion).

Franking credits are credited to your transaction account at the time the dividend is paid.

To be eligible for a credit to your account, franking credits received by the Fund's shares are required to be held in your account ‘at risk’ for at least 45 days, excluding the acquisition and disposal days.

Similarly, to be eligible for a credit to your account for franking credits which we receive for preference shares, you are required to hold those shares in your account ‘at risk’ for at least 90 days, excluding the acquisition and disposal days.

The calculation of a final allocation for the Fund's tax liability to be deducted from your account in Self Invest will be executed effective December 31 for the tax year prior. At this date a final calculation occurs, monies are debited from your transaction account and the tax year is closed for all members.

This true‑up only applies to members who are currently active in the QSuper Self Invest option at the time the final true‑up is processed.