Another corporate super fund announces its closure

The Manildra Flour Mills Retirement Fund has announced it will be terminated on 30 June 2024.

One of the last remaining corporate funds, Manildra Flour Mills Retirement Fund, catered to employees of agribusiness Manildra Group. 

Without citing a reason for its closure, the notice on the fund’s website read: “This fund is now closed to new members and will be terminating on 30 June 2024.”

In its last financial statement published in September last year, the fund said that despite geopolitical, environmental, and other factors resulting in the highest inflation surge since the 1970s, the fund recorded “excellent returns” for the financial year ended 30 June 2023. 

“The fund’s earning rate for the year to 30 June 2023 is 16.0 per cent pa for non-pension accounts and 16.75 per cent pa for pension accounts,” it said. 

The fund at the time also disclosed that its major investments as at 30 June 2023 included term deposits with Citibank of $9.24 million; Vanguard Australian Shares Index Fund units of $15.8 million; Schroders Australian Equity Fund units of $2.61 million; Dimensional Australian Value Trust, $5.3 million; Vanguard Australian Property Securities Index Fund, $4.93 million; Vanguard International Shares Index Fund (Unhedged) units of $7.7 million; Vanguard International Shares Index Fund (Hedged) units of $6.9 million; property at Bolong (Lot 23 DP 811233) of $4.65 million; and property at North Nowra (Yurunga Drive) of $1.2 million. 

The number of corporate super funds in Australia has reduced rapidly over the past two decades, going from 761 in 2004 to just 11 in 2022.

Among those looking to consolidate is also Qantas Super, with the fund announcing its search for a potential merger partner in September last year following a review of its scale and prospects. 

At the time, the fund cited recent consolidations as having influenced its decision. 

Mergers and consolidation in the super industry have continued at pace in recent years, as funds are forced to respond to new regulations such as the Your Future, Your Super (YFYS) reforms and seek out merger partners in the best interests of their members.