AM Corp wins Optus super tender

AM Corporation has won the tender to manage the Optus employee superannuation fund beating out seven other contenders to manage the 9000 member fund.

AM Corporation will administer the Optus Superannuation Plan fund through the AM LifeTrack Corporate Superannuation Fund after Optus decided to seek a new manager and chose AM Corporation ahead of ANZ, BT, Citigroup, ING, Mercer, MLC and Zurich.

Optus had previously been with AMP who indicated they were withdrawing from the corporate super market early next year and would not be able to service the stand alone fund, forcing the hand of Optus to seek a new manager. As a result the handover to AM Corporation from AMP will take effect from December 1.

As part of the deal AM Corporation will absorb the costs of the transfer of assets which it says will be kept to a miminum and should cost no more than $120,000.

At the same time fund members will have a wider investment choice, moving from four to 59 separate investment options as well as an enhanced range of insurance and administration services offered through AM’s Bureau service.

The tender is said to be one of this year’s biggest but Optus has refused to discuss the size of the fund according to Bridgeport Adviser and Asset Managers general manager Mario Isaias.

“This is a big win for AM Corporation and it is a business they have been targetting for quite some time,” Isaias says.

Bridgeport was closely involved in the tender process and provided advice to Optus as part of a review of its superannuation arrangements, including whether master trusts could handle the requirements of the Optus superannuation fund.

Bridgeport says they were chosen for the task as they do not supply administration services or operate their own master fund however the final decision for chosing a service provider fell to the Optus board.

“Bridgeport provided the detail for the tenders which went out in late June, and all communication with tenderers was through Optus who analysed all eight, created a shortlist of two and the board made the final decision,” Howard Pitts corporate benefits manager says.

The transfer of Optus to a master trust vehicle is one of a spate of recent moves with Southcorp, Ericsson, John Fairfax and The Age all making the move. One of the largest moves was that of BHP spin off One Steel which switched its superannuation fund worth $700 million to Towers Perrin in September last year.