POWERED BY MOMENTUM MEDIA
Equip offers alternative to merger
Major super fund Equip is promoting alternatives to merger for small to medium-sized funds, working on deploying an extended public offer model now that its merger with the Rio Tinto staff fund was behind it.
The model would allow funds to outsource trusteeship, administration, custody and investment operations, while retaining control of strategy, brand development and member and employer relations as a service company with its own board, executive and staff.
Equip executive officer, growth and corporate development, John Farrington, said that participating funds would get equal status within the extended public offer structure.
“We think this model is a really viable option for funds concerned about their ability to meet [Australian Prudential Regulation Authority’s] APRA’s member outcomes test, while overcoming the most common hurdles to merger.
“Critically, it allows participating funds to maintain control of their special, deep relationships with members and employers and to protect their already substantial investment in their brand and its connection with their community.”
The model could provide small to medium-scale funds with a means of delivering the benefits of scale that come with mergers with the preservation of their identity and value proposition.
Equip chief executive, Nicholas Vamvakas, said that there was demand in the industry for such a solution.
“We have a body of evidence that suggests the reality for sub-scale funds that believe in their brand and value proposition, is that they need to seek a robust solution that can deliver both scale and control of their offering and relationships.”
Farrington warned that the public offer model was not a ‘trustee for hire’ concept, and that Equip was only looking to partner with “a limited number of funds that have a fundamental and demonstrated commitment to delivering the best possible retirement outcomes for members.”
Recommended for you
Superannuation funds have posted another year of strong returns, but this time, the gains weren’t powered solely by Silicon Valley.
Australia’s $4.1 trillion superannuation system is doing more than funding retirements – it’s quietly fuelling the nation’s productivity, lifting GDP, and adding thousands to workers’ pay packets, according to new analysis from the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA).
Large superannuation accounts may need to find funds outside their accounts or take the extreme step of selling non-liquid assets under the proposed $3 million super tax legislation, according to new analysis from ANU.
Economists have been left scrambling to recalibrate after the Reserve Bank wrong-footed markets on Tuesday, holding the cash rate steady despite widespread expectations of a cut.
TOP PERFORMING FUNDS
ACS FIXED INT - AUSTRALIA/GLOBAL BOND
Fund name
3y(%)pa
1
DomaCom 465 Calder Road Calder
99.46 3 y p.a(%)
2
DomaCom DFS Mortgage
95.46 3 y p.a(%)
3
Global X 21Shares Bitcoin ETF
78.55 3 y p.a(%)
4
BetaShares Crypto Innovators ETF
50.39 3 y p.a(%)
5
Global X GlobalX FANG+ ETF
47.50 3 y p.a(%)
