The $450 million BOC Gases Superannuation Fund is close to finalising its implemented consulting tender.

Originally scheduled for completion before Christmas, BOC Gases superannuation manager Allan Murphy said the tender had proved “more complex than expected”.

He straight-batted industry suggestions that the four-year old implemented consulting contract with Ibbotson Associates (nee InTech) had not been renewed in favour of JANA Investment Advisors, whose implemented platform is operated by fellow National Australia Bank subsidiary MLC.

“The process has not been completed,” Murphy said, blaming complexity but not commenting on whether this was related to any intention to change unit trusts.

The BOC Gases corporate fund appointed InTech to replace Mercer Investment Consulting in 2005, outsourcing investment implementation for the first time in its 70-year history.

The contract had not been re-tendered since, however BOC’s superannuation manager Allan Murphy told I&T News last July that InTech’s “dramatic” changes in ownership had formed part of the reason for testing the market now.

BOC’s fund, a hybrid scheme known for its generous employer contributions, contracted John Newman of Professional Financial Solutions to run the tender.

The lion’s share of the BOC scheme assets are managed across seven Ibbotson Associates multimanager unit trusts, however a “$50 or $60 million” illiquids portfolio with AMP Capital Investors, comprising mostly direct property but also infrastructure and private equity, was not up for consideration in the review.