Outsource deal pushes SMF closer to $2 billion FUM

Superannuation administrator and master trust providerSMF Funds Managementwill gain 600 new members and $8 million in funds when it takes over OFM Investment Group’s remaining superannuation business.

The transfer takes SMF’s funds under management to over $1.8 billion on behalf of over 85,000 investors and 8,000 corporate funds.

OFM decided to divest itself of superannuation to concentrate on its property and mortgage trust businesses, selecting SMF for its specialisation and expertise in superannuation.

Recently investment managerInvescotransferred its Approved Deposit Funds - comprising 1,100 new members and more than $30 million in new funds - into SMF’s master trust The Spectrum Plan, with Invesco head of sales and marketing Peter Hodgson citing the range of options SMF can provide members as the reason for the switch.

According to SMF managing director Christopher Kelaher, the strong trend towards outsourcing is contributing to the consolidation growth SMF is currently experiencing.

“Superannuation is becoming very complex, very onerous and unless you’re a specialist and can do it efficiently it’s hard to make money out of it,” Kelaher says.

SMF expects profits to grow between 15 and 20 per cent this financial year, largely as a result of consolidation growth rather than organic growth, and hopes to pass the $2 billion mark for funds under management in the second half of the year.

“It’s not unrealistic given that the investment markets have normalised, and we are working on a number of initiatives that will contribute to that,” Kelaher says.

While Kelaher declined to discuss these initiatives, he is “expecting developments” as a result of the recent announcement thatDeakin Financial Servicesis in talks withAustChoice Financial Services.

AustChoice holds 9 per cent of Deakin’s listed stock through SMF, which acts as administrator for AustChoice.