Christian Super and the Australian Baptist Retirement Fund (ABRF) will merge from April next year into a not-for-profit, multi-employer fund with combined members of 11,000 and $150 million in assets.
Called Christian Super, it will serve Christian organisations around Australia, including churches, schools and colleges, missionary organisations and camping and conference centres.
The move will give members access to ethical investments, an allocated pension and online facilities. In addition to gaining more investment options and greater diversification, the fees of both funds are expected to drop on the back of better economies of scale.
“We are trying to pick the best of both worlds and see what’s best for both funds going forward,” Christian Super CEO Paul Beckmann says.
The move comes at a time when the superannuation environment is rapidly changing with increasing legislative obligations and higher member expectations adding to the complexity and cost of operating a fund.
Beckmann says Christian Super was formed in 1984 to serve Christian schools, but was renamed and re-positioned in 2000 to take on other Christian organisations. Since then the fund, which has assets of $105 million, has been successful in picking up some smaller denominational organisations and missionary funds.
