The big industry fund AustralianSuper has announced a merger with public sector fund AGEST Super.
The merger will take place in 2012 after the funds conduct due diligence, and will bring AustralianSuper's total funds under management to $46 billion.
AustralianSuper chief executive Ian Silk said the union of the two funds would provide greater benefits for AGEST members and maximise their retirement savings.
"We aim to keep growing as scale enables us to deliver the best prospects for secure retirement to the greatest possible number of Australian workers," Silk said.
AGEST has 130,000 members and $4.3 billion in assets.
This is the second merger announcement for AustralianSuper in 2011, with Westscheme merging into the fund in June.
The research house has offered a silver lining after super fund returns saw the end of a five-month streak last month.
A survey of almost 6,000 fund members has identified weakening retirement confidence, particularly among those under 55 years of age, signalling an opportunity for super funds to better engage with members on their retirement journey.
The funds have confirmed the signing of a successor fund transfer deed, moving closer to creating a new $29 billion entity.
A number of measures, including super on Paid Parental Leave, funding to recover unpaid super, and frameworks to encourage investment in the energy transition, have been welcomed by the superannuation industry.
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