Unit prices explained

Like other super funds, we value your account using units.

When you, or your employer, make a contribution to your account, you purchase units in your investment plan. The units change in value as the value of the underlying asset classes (which make up the various investment plans) either increase or decrease.

How a unit price is calculated

A unit price is calculated as:

• The total market value of the assets in each investment plan DIVIDED BY
• The number of units held in that investment plan

As the market fluctuates on a daily basis, the total value of the investment plan changes. The unit prices are calculated net of the management fee and taxes on investment income if applicable.

A unit price can change daily

The market value of each investment plan is calculated on a daily basis. This market value is then divided by the total number of units in each investment plan to arrive at the new unit price.

Unit pricing is an efficient way to determine your account’s value

Unit pricing has several benefits:

• It helps in processing transactions in your account, which is especially important when there are several investment choices available
• No matter which investment plan you have, the value of your account can be calculated relatively quickly and easily
• It makes it easy for you to switch from one investment plan to another

We use a ‘forward unit pricing’ system, which is a widely adopted standard in the funds management and super industry.

How forward unit pricing works

The unit price we declare for any given day is based on the value of assets at the close of business that day.

For example, we work out the unit price for Monday’s transactions based on the value of assets at the close of business on Monday. This unit price will generally be known one business day later. Therefore, in this example, transactions taking place on Monday will be based on the value of assets on Monday but applied with the unit price released on Tuesday. On occasion, it can take more than one business day to release unit prices.

We take the same approach for every transaction in your account, including contributions, rollovers and switches between investment plans. It is also how we determine the value of your balance.

Units are sold when you withdraw money from your account

When you access your super or change investment plans, the required number of units are sold at the unit price that applies at the time the transaction is processed. The number of units in your account is then adjusted accordingly.

Review your investment plan’s unit price history

You can review the unit price history of your chosen investment plan or any other investment plans available.

We want fairness for all members

Our Board has the discretion to depart from the unit pricing calculation policy when deemed necessary. This may include using historical pricing in some cases. If the Board uses this discretion, we will always let you know the details, including the date it occurred, what discretion was used and why, through this website.

From time to time, unit prices and transactions may be suspended and new prices may be struck. This would be most likely to happen where there has been a material movement in the value of an asset class, and it is considered necessary to suspend unit prices and transactions in order to ensure fairness among our members.

How unit pricing works - meet Kelly

Kelly invests $50,000 in our Growth plan. If the current unit price for the Growth plan on establishment date is $1.00, Kelly’s investment will purchase a total of 50,000.00 units.

Buying units: $50,000 ÷ $1.0000 = 50,000.00 units

Kelly wants to take a lump-sum payment of $2,000 from her GESB Super account.

The units she redeems are determined by dividing the payment amount by the current unit price for that investment option.

The units are calculated by:

• The payment amount DIVIDED BY
• The current unit price

In this example, the current unit price for the Growth plan is $1.1574, so Kelly will redeem a total of 1,728.0111 units.

Selling units: $2,000 ÷ $1.1574 = 1,728.0111 units

How unit pricing works when switching plans - meet Sam

Sam has $15,000 in our Cash plan and wants to switch to the Conservative plan.

If the unit price of the Cash plan is $1.50, Sam will have 10,000 Cash plan units.

The number of units Sam will own once he switches to the Conservative plan is determined by dividing his balance by the current unit price for the Conservative plan.

This is calculated by:

• The amount to be switched DIVIDED BY
• The current unit price in the new plan

In this example, if the unit price of the Conservative plan is $3.00, Sam will receive 5,000 Conservative plan units when the switch occurs.

Switching units: $15,000 ÷ $3.00 = 5,000 units

Therefore, the number of units that Sam owns reduces from 10,000 in the Cash plan to 5,000 in the Conservative plan but the value of his super is still $15,000. This is because different investment plans have different unit prices and your super balance depends on both the number of units owned and the unit price.