POWERED BY MOMENTUM MEDIA
(May-2002) I still call Victoria home
Funds based in New South Wales and Victoria have almost three-quarters of all members of the TOP 300 super funds across Australia, and there’s little to suggest that this situation is about to change.
If anything, some experts predict that the concentration will only intensify, as more industry and corporate funds around the country outsource to master trusts, most of which are based in Sydney or Melbourne.
Susan Ryan, president of the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST), notes that super funds are “usually located to suit employers, and these are concentrated in Sydney and Melbourne. It makes sense to use available resources to administer their funds”.
As a result, Ryan says: “Corporate funds are mostly located at the headquarters of their sponsoring corporation. Similarly, public sector funds are located in cities convenient to federal or state government administration centres.”
It is perhaps a bit surprising that Victoria dominates with 43.5 per cent of all the TOP 300 members and 39.4 per cent of its assets. But Victoria is also the base of many industry funds which have members around the country.
Top 300 figures reveal the state has 32 industry funds, compared to the 16 of New South Wales.
Melbourne is becoming home to most of the nation’s largest industry funds, such as CBUS, HESTA, Australian Retirement Fund (ARF) and Superannuation Trust of Australia.
Melbourne is also the hub of the corporate heavyweights. Nicholas Brookes, CEO of the Corporate Super Association, says Melbourne hosts the top 20 largest corporate funds, which hold the bulk of the sector’s $80 billion assets. “Sydney hosts many of the remaining 3,000, about 2,000 of which have assets less than $10 million,” he says.
Garry Weaven, executive chair of Industry Fund Services, says a fund’s location is often an interesting historical anomaly, with little bearing on its resources. “Location refers to the registered office of the trustee, which tends to outsource most services. Fund resources, therefore, often lie geographically with external service providers.”
“Administration is overwhelmingly the main employer in the industry sector, and occurs mainly in Melbourne,” Weaven says. “On the other hand, most fund managers are based in Sydney. Ancillary service providers, such as auditors, accountants and insurers, are sourced from both cities as well as interstate.”
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