Australian Ethical Superannuation and Christian Super have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore a potential merger.
The merger would result in over 30,000 Christian Super members joining Australian Ethical Super via a successor fund transfer in late 2022 or early 2023.
If the merger succeeds, Australian Ethical would grow to manage a total of more than $9 billion on behalf of 100,000 Australians across super, managed funds and ETF products.
The two firms have entered into a non-binding period of due diligence that is expected to be complete by May.
“We’re delighted to be exploring this opportunity with Christian Super. It is a meaningful endorsement of our purpose and investment philosophy, which remain unchanged and only strengthened by this opportunity,” said Australian Ethical chair Steve Gibbs.
Last December, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) gave Christian Super until July 2022, to merge with a “larger, better performing” fund.
Christian Super was named as one of the 13 super funds that failed APRA’s inaugural performance test.
“We’re excited to explore a potential merger with Australian Ethical, a fellow pioneer of responsible investing in Australia, with a long track record of investment excellence and positive impact,” said Christian Super chair Neville Cox.
“There are many synergies and areas of close alignment in our approach, and we look forward to working together to shape a shared future for combined member benefit.”
