A year of challenges and excitement: Acting CEO Charles Woodhouse’s Christmas message

QSuper’s Acting Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer Charles Woodhouse reflects on a challenging, yet rewarding year, while also looking to the future with great optimism.

On behalf of QSuper, it’s my pleasure and privilege to offer you my compliments for the festive season. We have shared a year of ongoing challenges, laced with excitement and opportunity as together we work towards ensuring you have the retirement you deserve.

As Acting Chief Executive Officer, I lead a team dedicated to that purpose.

The end of year is always a time for reflection on all aspects of our lives. Naturally, our financial situation is an important part of how we feel now and how we see our future.

Whatever your stage of life, as a member I am confident QSuper has you covered. We end the year as the proud recipient of a number of awards on behalf of members that validate our promise to deliver for you.¹

• SuperRatings’ Smooth Ride Award for the third consecutive year, recognising our number one ranking on a return-for-risk basis over the previous seven years, and SuperRatings’ Pension of the Year for the fourth consecutive year
• Money magazine’s Best Value MySuper product
• Chant West’s Best Fund: Innovation (for our Lifetime Pension product).

Dedicated to a smooth ride for members

These awards are founded on the combination of our investment performance, the quality of our service, our low fees and a proud record of innovation, all of which has continued uninterrupted while we have managed the issues created by the coronavirus pandemic.

As Chief Investment Officer since 2019 and Head of Funds Management for the previous 10 years, I have lived and breathed the QSuper approach, with our dedication to a “smooth ride” for members, making them less vulnerable to the swings of investment markets.

Every decision we make is founded on what it will mean to you, our members, who are the sole beneficiaries of all our actions.

You may already have read of our participation in a consortium to buy Sydney Airport, one of the nation’s leading infrastructure assets. Like other signature holdings in our portfolio, it aims to offer long-term, stable value that will underpin the returns on your investment.

A great year for innovations

This year has seen a number of significant innovations, which may merit your consideration as you go about your end-of-year reflections.

• In March, we launched Lifetime Pension, a groundbreaking product that provides tax-free income for life and reduces the worry of running out of money in retirement.² It has already won national and international recognition, including at the recent World Pension Summit Innovation Awards³ in the Netherlands.
• An expansion of the exchange traded funds members can access conveniently and at low cost through our Self-Invest functions.
• Our Socially Responsible investment option continues to grow, attracting more members who wish to allocate their superannuation to functions that measurably improve society.
• We have also rebalanced our investment approach across our global equities portfolio to reduce exposure to carbon-heavy industries in anticipation of the economic shifts that will come as the world focuses more on climate change.

Merger plans well advanced

In the same spirit of seeking opportunity, we are now well advanced on plans to merge with Sunsuper, which will create Australia’s second-largest superannuation fund.

On 6 December, we revealed the name of the merged fund is Australian Retirement Trust. The merger remains subject to a range of conditions, including regulatory, legislative and final board approvals, and is on track to be completed on 28 February 2022.

The merger will have no immediate effect on you as a QSuper member, but we anticipate ongoing benefits associated with pooling the resources and investment strength associated with managing a growing fund with more than $200 billion for 2 million Australians.

We look forward to these challenges and remain grateful to you for the trust you put in us to manage the savings that will contribute to your long-term wellbeing. We believe we have justified it and look forward to our continued partnership in your future.

All the best for 2022.

For more information

For more information about the proposed merger, to read answers to frequently asked questions or to learn more about what a QSuper and Sunsuper merger could deliver, visit our information hub.

1. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.
2. Eligibility and conditions apply.
3. Winner, 2021 Pension & Investments’ (P&I) Innovation Award, World Pension Summit held at The Hague, Netherlands on 14 October 2021. For more information, visit P&I. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Awards and ratings are only one factor when deciding how to invest your super.

The opinions expressed and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the QSuper Board. No responsibility is taken for the accuracy of any of the information supplied and you should seek advice for your circumstances.