Opening up early access to super for housing would have a negative effect on the balances of even those members that don’t dig into their savings, with funds forced to adopt more conservative investment strategies and hold more liquid assets.
The circa $88 billion industry fund for workers in health and community services reckons that alleviating the affordable housing crisis will boost its other investments by easing the cost of living and inflation.
ART hits $300 billion, rethinks operating model
Australian Retirement Trust (ART) has shot past $300 billion in funds under management and is launching a new operating model to “drive its next phase of strategic growth”.
That operating model, which is effective immediately, focusses on three lines of business – investments, workplaces and members – to drive “economic value” for ART’s now 2.4 million members.
“Our members trust us to guard and grow their retirement savings and generate sustainable retirement incomes, a responsibility my colleagues and I take incredibly seriously,” said ART chief executive David Anderson. “Australian Retirement Trust has an impressive legacy of accomplishments, and the time is right to now focus on our future and how we will unlock our potential and support our members to retire well with confidence.
“I strongly believe Australian Retirement Trust will be the distinctive market leader in retirement if we put our collective focus on becoming world class in four disciplines – strong investment performance, innovative retirement solutions, and excellent member and digital experiences, all underpinned by outstanding governance practices.”
Previous chief executive Bernard Reilly telegraphed some of the updates ART required in an interview last year, with the fund planning to build out its customer service and registry platforms as it moved on from the merger that created it.
As a result of those mergers, ART has around 3000 employees, though a fund spokesperson told ISN that there would be no redundancies among its workforce as a result of the new operating model. But chief commercial officer Dave Woodall, who has spearheaded much of the fund’s inorganic growth, will leave ART after nine years to join another organisation, while its chief member officer, Lachlan East, will leave in August, with Simonne Burnett stepping into the role.
The new operating model will be enabled by an integrated operations and delivery team, overseen by new chief operating officer Kathy Vincent (previously chief of retirement) and supported by specialist enterprise partners across finance and strategy, people and culture, risk and compliance, and enterprise services.
The $300 billion milestone comes as ART announces a merger with the $9 billion Qantas Super, the latest in a series of tie-ups with small funds including the likes of Alcoa, AvSuper and Australia Post Super.
