TWUSUPER has decided not to proceed with a merger with EISS Super, following extensive due diligence.
In a statement, a TWUSUPER spokesperson said: “Any merger must be in members’ best interest. TWUSUPER is now pursuing other growth options.
“TWUSUPER’s motivation in entering merger discussions with EISS was the potential benefit members of both funds would achieve from greater scale. We also felt EISS members would benefit from TWUSUPER’s strong investment performance.”
The two funds entered into a memorandum of understanding for a merger in April. However, EISS Super had recently come under scrutiny after its ex-chief executive, Alex Hutchison, resigned after investigations into sponsorship and bullying complaints.
Hutchison claimed his resignation was a result of a “smear campaign” and its former chair, Warren Mundy, departed the fund shortly after Hutchison.
Super funds had a “tremendous month” in November, according to new data.
Australia faces a decade of deficits, with the sum of deficits over the next four years expected to overshoot forecasts by $21.8 billion.
APRA has raised an alarm about gaps in how superannuation trustees are managing the risks associated with unlisted assets, after releasing the findings of its latest review.
Compared to how funds were allocated to March this year, industry super funds have slightly decreased their allocation to infrastructure in the six months to September – dropping from 11 per cent to 10.6 per cent, according to the latest APRA data.