MTAA Super has received the support of the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) as it seeks to address member concerns following false press allegations.
On 20 March, an article regarding the viability of MTAA Super was published in the weekend edition of Fairfax publications.
The allegations in the article were apparently false and an out of court settlement was reached between MTAA Super and Fairfax.
In response to the media coverage, MTAA Super mailed a letter from its chair Allan Hawke to its members in the motor trade industry. The letter informed the members that the press coverage was false and that the fund continues to operate.
The member communication included a letter of reassurance from ASFA.
ASFA's chief executive Pauline Vamos informed MTAA Super that the association wrote to Fairfax outlining their concerns over the article.
The letter said that MTAA, like all superannuation funds, is highly regulated by APRA and is a significant provider of retirement outcomes for many working Australians.
"We were concerned the [Fairfax] report gave an impression that the fund was going to fail when clearly it was not. Such reports can cause a run on a fund," Vamos said.
"The impression the article gave was so severe that as an industry body responsible for protecting reputation risk we took steps to address it."
The fund felt it was necessary to allay any potential concerns that members would have had regarding the article, MTAA Super deputy chief executive Leeanne Turner said.
Hawke also advised the fund's members that MTAA Super would end its agreement with MTAA Ltd regarding the provision of secretariat services.
The super fund will now "directly employ those secretariat staff members who have, in practice, been dedicated to the fund business".
"I had no idea that there was a newspaper story about my fund," an MTAA Super member said.
