Suncorp Metway moves on master trust business

Suncorp Metway is to launch into the $58 billion master trust market.

Suncorp Metway is to launch into the $58 billion master trust market.

The group’s Investor Choice Master Trust Product suite plans to capture more than $200 million in funds under management in the next year. It has already secured $15.5 million.

Suncorp Metway senior product manager Andrew Reddy says the master trust market has grown 40 per cent a year since 1997.

Funds in master trusts equated to about $22 billion in June 1997 with close to $60 billion today. Reddy says the total is expected to double every four to five years well past 2010.

As a percentage of all retail fund investments, master trusts have grown from 5.6 per cent in 1997 to nearly 10 per cent in March this year.

Suncorp's Investor Choice product has 14 managers with up to 30 different investment options incorporating the full range of asset classes.

Reddy says the general public is still very confused about master trusts.

"There aren't many investment advisers that aren't talking about master trusts as part of the prod-uct solution," Reddy says.

Suncorp Metway life, superannuation and managed investments general manager Andrew Spicer says the group’s entrance into the market comes at an interesting time. Suncorp Metway already has $3 billion in funds under management.

"We're seeing some remarkable inflows into master Trusts, last year there was $10.5 billion flowed into Master Trusts and $12.9 billion flowed into retail funds," he said.

Reddy says Suncorp Metway intends to double the size of its master trust business every year for the next three or four years.