The boards of Kinetic Super and Sunsuper have signed heads of agreement, giving in principle support for a merger.
The final decision to merge had not been made as both funds needed to complete a comprehensive due diligence process. The funds would look to commence a full merger later in the year when the due diligence process had been completed.
The combined fund would have more than $45 billion in funds under management, 1.3 million members, and over 100,000 employers.
Kinetic Super board chair, Frank Gullone, said combining the funds would not only achieve further economies of scale in the form of lower fees, but would also accelerate the delivery of enhanced services and products to all members.
“The two funds are highly complementary and share similar values. We united by our profit-for-member model and unfaltering focus on maximising members’ retirement savings within a low-cost and transparent structure,” Gullone said.
Sunsuper chair, Ben Swan, said the proposed merger was an opportunity to leverage the strengths and capabilities of both organisations for the benefit of their members and employers.
“With the shared objective of always acting in our customers’ best interests, a successful merger will drive future efficiencies, promote a stronger competitive position in the market, and ultimately generate greater value for the combined member and employer base,” Swan said.
Vanguard Super has reported strong returns across most of its investment options, attributed to a “low-cost, index-based approach”.
The fund has achieved double-digit returns amid market volatility, reinforcing the value of long-term investment strategies for its members.
Australian super funds notched a third consecutive year of strong returns, with the median balanced option delivering an estimated 10.1 per cent over the 2024-25 financial year, but an economist has warned that the rally may be harder to sustain as key risks gather pace.
AustralianSuper has reported a 9.52 per cent return for its Balanced super option for the 2024–25 financial year, as markets delivered another year of strong performance despite the complex investing environment.