The superannuation of thousands of Sydney diocesan staff and clergy worth more than $120 million dollars is about to be transferred to insurance giant AMP.
The Standing Committee of the Sydney Diocese has voted unanimously to support a partnership deal that will see the Anglican Super Sydney fund move to AMP's SignatureSuper trust.
The decision will affect more than 3,200 members all of whom are employed by Anglican organisations.
The merger comes in the wake of federal government legislation due to come into force in July 2005 which will permit employees to choose which fund their employees pay super into.
Anglican SuperFund Sydney chairman, James Flavin, says the fund's small scale means it is unable to compete with larger super funds offering expanded services such as websites, allocated pensions and financial advisory services.
"We can keep all the best aspects of our fund " our identity, our highly regarded ethical investment approach. In addition, we now have a whole new range of services that we could not have previously offered," Mr Flavin says.
The Standing Committee has been told that the merger will also result in a significant reduction in the cost of managing the fund, resulting in reduced costs to members.
"I think this is a good deal for members," says Bishop Robert Forsyth, chairman of the sub-committee responsible for reviewing the ordinance that governs the Anglican Super Fund.
The operators of the Sydney fund have been searching for a merger partner for more than three years.
The AMP partnership follows hard on the heels of the Sydney fund’s rejected mergers with interdenominational fund, Christian Super and Anglican Superannuation Australia.
Paul Willis, fund secretary, says AMP will handle all day-to-day operations out of its Parramatta customer service centre from the beginning of 2005.
The current board of the fund will also form an AMP advisory committee to ensure standards stay high.
"Our policy committee is going to add value to the process by monitoring the delivery of service and performance. Our committee will ensure that our members are taken care of " in short, that we get what we asked for," Mr Willis says.
Mr Willis says the governance of the fund will now be in the hands of a professional body whose business is superannuation.
He also says AMP is keen to take advantage of experience that has already provided 40 years of ethical service that out-performs the index.
"We're forming a partnership with AMP to develop the ethical investment charter which will determine the selection of investment managers within portfolios."
Further details in December Southern Cross
