Qld has the two fastest growing super funds

The merger of Brighter Super and Suncorp Super has seen Queensland become a home to the two fastest growing superannuation funds in Australia and bolstered Brisbane’s position as a major financial services hub.

According to the Queensland Futures Institute’s report, the estimated contribution to the state’s economy directly from the financial services sector stood at $21 billion and was well-placed to expand, given the state’s strong population growth combined with a growing demand for infrastructure investment on top of the 2032 Olympics.

Australian Retirement Trust (ART) and Brighter Super, which are both headquartered in Queensland’s capital, were named the two fastest growing super funds in terms of funds under management (FUM) and membership growth, according to the KPMG’s research.

Following the merger of Brighter Super with Suncorp Super, the new super fund moved to $29 billion in FUM and had 259,000 members while the merger of QSuper and Sunsuper created the Australian Retirement Trust with $230 billion in FUM and over two million members.

Brighter Super’s merger with Suncorp Super also made it the fourth-largest non-government financial services entity in Queensland with the head office remaining in the state.

Brighter Super chief executive, Kate Farrar, said that with the Suncorp Super merger complete, Brighter Super was planning to again double its size from $29 billion to around $60 billion through a future merger with a fund “that looks like us’’ and is intent on preserving its commitment to Queensland.

“We have identified that $60 billion is an optimal size to deliver consistent results with optimal efficiencies, while still delivering a boutique service to our members,’’ Farrar stressed.

“We will always remain a not-for-profit industry fund with our heart in Queensland but remain open to partnering with other funds to deliver even better outcomes to our members.”

The merger with Suncorp Super was the first time a retail fund had merged into an industry super fund, returning the ownership to members.

Although Brighter Super would remain wholly a not-for-profit industry fund, the Suncorp Super merger would provide the capacity to offer some of the services that had been available to Suncorp members such as wider financial advice options, she added.

In October 2022 Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick launched the Queensland Finance Council to promote Queensland as a location for financial services and to explore opportunities to expand the sector.

Earlier this month, ANZ Bank announced plans to establish a new technology hub in Brisbane, in a bid to progress its plans to acquire tier-two rival Suncorp Bank, which would see 700 tech specialists over the next five years working in the hub.