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Fund merger prompts manager review

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By Victoria Papandrea
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3 minute read

The merger between ESI Super and SPEC Super will prompt a review of investment managers in both of the funds.

Industry superannuation funds ESI Super and SPEC Super will review their mandates with investment managers, following the merger of the two energy funds. 

The merger, which will create a new $3.4 billion fund, is expected to be completed by the end of March 2011.

In the meantime the two funds, along with the help of their asset consultant JANA Investment Advisers, would reassess their current mandates with investment managers, ESI Super/SPEC Super chairman Bob Henricks told InvestorDaily.

"There are a lot of synergies with the investment managers between the two funds already," he said.

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Both funds currently use QIC and Trinity as property managers, AMP Future Directions as an international equities manager and The Private Capital Fund Group for infrastructure and private equity.

"There are probably already 10 or 12 of the managers that are common across the two funds and between now and March next year, we'll work out what the position will be going forward," Henricks said.

"So at this time it's not a matter of sacking any of the managers, but going forward. We've just got to see what we come up with as a conclusion."

Both industry funds use National Australia Bank for custodial services and Australian Income Protection for income protection insurance.

Other group insurers will be determined as contract renewal arises, Henricks said.

"ESI Super uses MLC for some insurance and SPEC uses CommInsure, so there's a little bit of coming together there as both use different insurers," he said.

"As the insurance contracts come up, there will be an assessment made and there will be a decision from there. So again, there are some commonalities already as they share the same income protection insurer which makes life easier, but on the others it's yet to be determined."