HESTA has announced its membership has now surpassed 1 million as the fund plans for continued expansion as part of a three-year strategy.
Chief executive officer Debby Blakey said reaching seven digits was a significant milestone for the fund, and explained that the increased scale helps HESTA deliver on its outcomes for members.
“Our members are at the heart of everything we do, so it’s an enormous privilege to head into 2023 with 1 million Australians who trust HESTA to look after their hard-earned retirement savings,” Ms Blakey said.
“Being 1 million-strong means our members can collectively have an amazing impact through their super.
“They know we’re a trusted partner supporting them to face the future with confidence, that we’ll be a gutsy advocate for a fairer, healthier community and we’ll deliver investment excellence with impact, accelerating progress towards a more sustainable world,” Ms Blakey added.
She said the fund has built deep relationships across the health and community services sector, developing a strong understanding of its members, of which women make up around 80 per cent of.
“It’s an incredible privilege to be dedicated to serving those working in health and community services and to be able to invest in and for people who make our world better,” Ms Blakey commented.
“Our members are mainly women working part-time or casually in often lower-paid sectors such as aged care or early childhood education. Many miss out on the full benefits of super because they take unpaid time out of the workforce to care for others.”
“Core to our purpose is our super with impact approach and the incredible growth we’re seeing across the fund shows this strategy is resonating with more and more Australians.”
Moreover, Ms Blakey said the merger between HESTA and Mercy Super in December, which resulted in 13,000 Mercy Super members and their assets moving to HESTA, kicked off an exciting era of growth for the fund.
“It’s fantastic, the team was able to deliver a smooth merger in just eight months and we’re continuing to look for other opportunities to build on this strong growth track record.
“I want to thank the entire HESTA team for their passion and commitment in making a difference to our members’ financial futures, as well as our partners for their valued, ongoing support,” she concluded.
