UniSuper and Australian Catholic Superannuation (ACS) have completed a merger to form a $115 billion super fund which came about after ACS failed APRA’s performance test last year.
The ACS investment team led by Michael Block will not be joining UniSuper a spokesperson for the fund confirmed.
With a member base of 620,000 members, the enlarged UniSuper will focus on achieving retirement outcomes for all members and a smooth transition for ACS members, UniSuper chief executive Peter Chun said in a statement.
ACS members can look forward to benefits of scale said Chun in email responses to questions including an average 25 per cent savings in fees. “As a fund now open to all Australians, UniSuper must compete and win in choice to build greater scale. Scale unlocks investment opportunities simply not available to smaller funds, and helps to keep downward pressure on fees,” he said.
“This merger helps to enable UniSuper to achieve its strategic objectives – investing at scale to build a retirement for members that doesn’t cost the earth,” he said.
ACS’s merger with UniSuper is part of the fallout of 13 MySuper products failing APRA’s inaugural Your Future, Your Super performance test last year. Some five mergers have been announced since the results were released in the middle of last year. ACS turned to UniSuper in December after its initial plans to merge with NGS Super fell through.
Separately, HESTA and Mercy Super have completed their merger to form a close to $70 billion fund with over 970,000 members.
