Welcome to the community @Alex2,
I was tempted to move your post to a COVID19 topic on super, of which there are two, but your comments are really super, nothing to do with COVID-19.
and
Back to your issue, you may find that our share markets and super funds have had an excellent upward bounce over the past month, so any delay by your fund was more likely to be in your interests than against it.
A mate decided to move his investment option from balanced to cash a month ago, but his super fund delays any movement for 30 days from request, not just 5. He will have made out well compared to it having been moved on the day of his request, or soon thereafter.
As is published, super requires a long term perspective and most funds have processes that stymie swapping in and out, because every time one does that they pay the spread between sell and buy prices, and the timing can be for better or worse.
The bottom line is even passive investors need to understand how their funds work including options and how a member’s instructions are carried out (delays, etc).
Your closing comment about things that could be done easily online are very appropriate. Our funds are historically not equipped to do such things, and there seems to be some self serving pride in making it difficult so as to keep us members from sometimes shooting our own finances when we think we are saving our day. Of course 100% timing creates huge profits (advantages) but I am not aware of anyone who did that more than once, if ever, although the markets are littered with advisory services who claim to have done just that. If they were so successful would they be selling advice, or investing their own money?
