Australian Retirement Trust (ART) has confirmed it has now successfully completed a successor fund transfer (SFT) with Woolworths Group and Endeavour Group.
The move, which is ART’s second largest SFT to date, will see more than 25,000 new members join the super fund and bring in an additional $4.3 billion.
As a result, ART’s total funds under administration now stands above $260 billion with a total membership of more than 2.3 million.
According to ART chief commercial officer Dave Woodall, the SFT signals the strength of the fund’s offering to corporate clients and their employees as well as its growth trajectory.
“The Woolworths decision came soon after Australia Post also transitioned its staff superannuation arrangements to Australian Retirement Trust, with $8 billion and 28,000 members transferred,” he said.
ART noted that a number of other transfers are also currently underway, including with Commonwealth Bank Group Super, AvSuper, and Alcoa Super, all of which are expected to be completed this financial year.
“We are also very pleased to have welcomed Oracle and The Lottery Corporation this year, transferring another 2,500 new members,” Mr Woodall added.
“At Australian Retirement Trust, our vision is to be Australia’s most chosen and trusted retirement partner, and our recent mergers signal the confidence from corporate Australia in what we offer.”
Mr Woodall said the latest transition came during a “strong growth period” for the fund which has included the launch of a new brand nationwide.
“It’s exciting to see how our new name and brand is creating momentum and attracting both members and employers. We’re expecting our total inflows in the current financial year in excess of $40 billion by 30 June 2024,” he stated.
In terms of the fund’s process, Mr Woodall said that ART’s “very experienced in-house transition team” allowed it to deliver a positive member experience during transitions and provide employers with the opportunity to refresh their value offering to employees.
“Our offering is twofold in that it supports both employers and employees. Being member-centric during a key moment – like transferring someone’s super account – is really important to instil confidence and engagement in the process,” he explained.
“Ease in the relationship and our support is also important. We’ve built infrastructure to support corporate Australia in reducing the time, effort, and risk to deliver on their employee superannuation benefits via an employer platform that provides clearinghouse services and bespoke payroll administration – an often-underrated benefit of our ecosystem.”
ART’s Super Savings Balanced balanced option returned 10 per cent in FY23. Last month, the fund said it owed its strong performance and expected ongoing growth to its approach to valuations.
