NEWS UPDATE: Perpetual outlines SMSF strategy

Perpetual has outlined its business strategy in the self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) and small APRA fund (SAF) market following its recent acquisition of superfund administrator SmartSuper.

Perpetual chief operating officer Eric Wang said the $16 million purchase would increase the group’s total SMSF and SAF funds under administration to almost $3.5 billion.

“We realised that this was one of the more important spaces to participate in as a group, not just from a commercial point of view but an industry protection point of view,” he said.

“To put it another way, this is the largest single acquisition Perpetual has made in its 120-year history.”

According to Wang, the SMSF sector is currently the largest and fastest growing segment of the superannuation industry, with key drivers including the maturing of super, Australia’s ageing population, increasing regulation and the political importance of super.

Wang added that the industry would soon see a consolidation of superannuation administrators as regulation pushed for more efficient processes.

“Funds are still going to be coming in from many sources, whether that’s accountants or planners. Where we see consolidation is not for those who put people into the SMSFs, but you’ll see consolidation for those who administer it at the back-end,” he said.

SmartSuper managing director Andrew Bloore said with SMSFs growing in importance, the industry is in urgent need of strong leadership to set standards.

“We’ve got to have an industry leader stand up and help this industry through a process of consolidation and getting to a level where the standard is exceptional. The coming together of Perpetual and SmartSuper is primarily for this reason, to show a level of delivery in this industry where they can say this is the model of where you need to get up to.”