Managed Fund - Which broker? - mFund

[Frankieplus]

Sorry I didn't know which other forum on here I should post this so I am posting it here..

I have a Vanguard Managed Fund via an investor platform that I now want to move.

I can move my fund via an in specie transfer to somewhere else, but I don't yet know where I want to move it to and I don't want to sell it down either.

I can move it to Vanguard, their investment platform fee is 0.20%.

How about mFund? Does anyone here know how it works? Can I move a managed fund from an investor platform to a retail broker such as Bell Direct that has mFund? And if I did are there any negative effects of doing this rather than moving my fund over to either Vanguard or some other full blown investment platform?

I'm trying to save on fees too


-Frank

 

[Dona Ferentes]

And an innovation that has not really achieved traction. Only 1 post ... and who were the natural advocates???

After less than a decade, ASX ponders winding up mFunds​

Street Talk understands the exchange is weeks away from launching an industry consultation on a potential wind-down and closure of its stagnating mFund product. The fund settlement service was launched by the company’s then chief executive Elmer Funke Kupper in 2014 and for years was a key growth initiative for the ASX.

“A final decision regarding mFund has not yet been made and the mFund service will continue to operate as normal throughout the consultation process,” an ASX spokesman said.

mFund sought to do away with lengthy paper-based application forms by allowing investors to buy and sell unlisted managed funds through their broker in the same way that they trade shares. It also allowed investors and advisers to sidestep expensive platforms by unbundling the process.
The service attracted large investment managers including Platinum, Schroders, Fidelity, Allan Gray, PIMCO and Ausbil with funds spanning equity, fixed interest, money market and communities.

Industry sources who spoke with Street Talk were not surprised to hear the product was on its last legs – nor would they be surprised if it closed. Since its launch, mFund has grown to 228 funds from 45 but only attracted $1.6 billion in funds under management. For comparison, exchange-traded funds hold around $147 billion in funds under management across 283 funds.
Funds under management peaked just below $2 billion in 2021 and has stalled since. The prize for the largest fund goes to the PIMCO Global Bond fund which holds $182.7 million. A handful of funds hold less than $100,000.
Part of the problem is the expansion of actively managed ETFs which Magellan brought to market one year after mFund launched. Active ETFs are similar to mFund in that they offer electronic access to a managed fund but trade on the ASX like a listed investment company and offer live pricing.

The ASX also had issues getting brokers on board with the largest retail broker – CommSec – holding out. nabtrade, which had offered the service since 2015, pulled out in August 2021 over concerns the regulator’s new design and distribution obligations would be too disruptive.
Of those that do offer access, sources said Bell Financial does the lion’s share of trade across Bell Direct and Bell Potter, picking up brokerage fees. ANZ, CMC and Macquarie are also plugged in. The decision comes after the ASX sold 100 per cent of its interest in Yieldbroker in May – an investment it held since 2014.

If the mFund service does close, sources flagged it could be a messy process to transfer unitholders to clients of the fund manager (rather than the broker), noting this may have to occur fund by fund. Tax would also be a consideration for those selling units.

Among the ideas being floated is grandfathering the mFunds into active ETFs – a potential windfall for the ASX (and market makers