POWERED BY MOMENTUM MEDIA
Media Super courting corporate media fund
Media Super is in the initial stages of a merger with a corporate media fund, according to Media Super chief executive Ross Martin.
While he was reluctant to disclose the identity of the corporate fund, Martin said the merger made sense because many employees of large media companies were also members of Media Super.
The merger would most likely take place in 2012, considering the complexity and lengthy lead times involved, Martin said. He added that Media Super did not take mergers lightly, and it was not something that the fund would be rushing into.
"We are committed to growing our fund, but remaining within the media, printing, entertainment and arts industry. We're not out there just to take funds for the sake of taking funds. We want to remain a niche player in our market," Martin said.
In addition to increasing its membership base through a potential merger, Media Super is also looking to improve its client retention, at a time when members leaving to form self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) is becoming a growing problem for industry funds.
"We're employing an outside consultant to do member surveys on a number of issues. We're targeting members who have transferred to SMSFs - the reasons why, and what we can do to stop that or improve our member offering," Martin said.
He said his instinct was that SMSFs were rising in popularity because people had responded badly to negative superannuation returns during the global financial crisis, and were setting up SMSFs with the majority of the funds in term deposits.
This might seem attractive at the time, Martin said, but over the long-term, funds like Media Super provide a better return.
"We're about to issue an annual report, and despite what's happened over the last few years, our 20-year return is about 8.8 per cent," he said.
Recommended for you
The UK aims to boost investments via Australia’s super fund sector, unlocking major bilateral business and growth opportunities.
The Future Fund has received government approval to internally manage transactions in Australian infrastructure and property, marking a significant shift in its investment approach after nearly two decades of relying solely on external managers.
The super fund has welcomed Robert Potter and Wayne Davy to its board of directors.
Private market assets in super have surged, while private debt recorded the fastest growth among all investment types.
TOP PERFORMING FUNDS
ACS FIXED INT - AUSTRALIA/GLOBAL BOND
Fund name
3y(%)pa
1
DomaCom DFS Mortgage
92.15 3 y p.a(%)
2
Global X 21Shares Bitcoin ETF
53.24 3 y p.a(%)
3
Global X GlobalX FANG+ ETF
43.15 3 y p.a(%)
4
DomaCom Shoreline North Coogee
36.26 3 y p.a(%)
5
GAM LSA Private Shares AU I
35.87 3 y p.a(%)
