Bob Henricks

Queensland-based funds ESI Super and SPEC Super have agreed to merge, creating a $3.8 billion fund.

The agreement was announced this week following the completion of legal and tax due diligence. The merger is expected to be completed before the end of March, next year.

Commenting on the merger, the chairman of both funds, Bob Henricks, said it would deliver benefits to members of both funds including greater scale, better investment opportunities, and cost-savings in the order of $2 million a year through shared services and greater synergies.

Henricks said that, on the surface, ESI Super and SPEC Super shared many common attributes including a focus on the energy industry. He added that the decision to merge had not been taken lightly.

Henricks said the merged structure would adopt SPEC Super’s streamlined administration model, while ESI Super’s existing team would be responsible for the fund management and financial services of the new merged fund.