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Members' interests trump Asset/CareSuper merger
The best interest of members is still driving Asset Super (Asset) decision-making and not a need to align with CareSuper (Care) in the lead-up to their merger said Asset chief executive John Paul.
The merger date has been set for 26 October 2012, but Paul said while the super fund wasn’t entering into any long-term contracts, any necessary decision-making would be driven by a concern for the individual fund and its members.
“But we won’t merge until we meet the successor fund deed requirement which is that we have to have a legal sign-off to say that members of Asset in the main are either equal in the benefit that they will get going into the merger or that they will have better benefits,” he said.
However, Paul said he was supportive of the merger which will bring benefits of economies of scale, internal resourcing, and more choice for members. Both funds are currently working on unifying fund services and transitioning.
Earlier in the year, CommInsure won an internal tender process to appoint a single insurance provider edging out Asset’s current insurer, MLC. Paul said the new insurance arrangement could deliver more flexibility and comprehensive cover options for Asset members.
Both funds employ National Asset Servicing for custodian services and Australian Administration Services (AAS) for administration, although Paul said they still had to transfer members into the same bucket on the AAS platform as Care’s administration is administered from Melbourne and from Sydney for Asset.
Paul said Asset also had to notify their advice provider – Money Solutions – of their intention to switch to Care’s provider, IFFP, after the trustees have signed off on the merger.
He said they wouldn’t have everything done by 26 October, particularly Asset’s tax returns which will be finalised later in the year, but they are working now to “cross the T’s and dot the I’s”.
Nevertheless, he said if asset consultant Mercer advised them of an underperforming fund manager, they would not automatically choose a Care-aligned manager as a replacement.
“Obviously with a merger you try as best you can to harmonise things. That’s not always possible, and certainly we’re running the fund as we should be – as a stand-alone asset fund at the present time, but we’re keeping an eye on things,” he said.
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