“What does it matter a hill of beans which fund merges into which?” With those words, Royal Commissioner, Kenneth Hayne, indicated his feelings with respect to the failure of Catholic Super to undertake a successful merger with Australian Catholic Super Retirement Fund.
The Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry had been told that the proposed merger was now back on foot due to discussions between the new chairmen of both funds but that it had failed over disagreements as to which was the dominant fund.
The deputy chairman of Catholic Super, Peter Haysey, told the Royal Commission that his fund’s board had held concerns about Catholic Super not being the successor fund because of its scale and superior returns.
However, Commissioner Hayne pointed to the two funds having agreed to the two funds having agreed to having six seats each on the board of a merged fund plus an independent chair and the ability of that board to set the tone of the merged organisation.
Haysey then pointed out that the possibility of a merger between the two funds was still on foot with discussions having been restarted.
The proposed reforms have been described as a key step towards delivering better products and retirement experiences for members, with many noting financial advice remains the “urgent missing piece” of the puzzle.
Jim Chalmers has defended changes to the Future Fund’s mandate, referring to himself as a “big supporter” of the sovereign wealth fund, amid fierce opposition from the Coalition, which has pledged to reverse any changes if it wins next year’s election.
In a new review of the country’s largest fund, a research house says it’s well placed to deliver attractive returns despite challenges.
Chant West analysis suggests super could be well placed to deliver a double-digit result by the end of the calendar year.