Page 23 - Print21 Magazine March April 2021
P. 23

                Finance
   been under the spotlight like never before in the past year or two, including the recent Retirement Income Review, and the Royal Commission into financial services. Regulatory reform in the superannuation sector will be an ongoing activity in the coming months and years. Griffin says,
“I am supportive of most of the changes, particularly where the focus is on getting hard-working people out of low performing funds. It’s important that all Australians are enabled to maximise their retirement savings. We know that many people don’t pay a lot of attention to their super until they’ve been working a few decades, but being in a good
or poor fund in those early years can make a significant difference to their retirement.” Changes that Griffin isn’t too keen on
include any move to make the proposed increase in the Super Guarantee up to 12 per cent optional. He says, “Younger workers and people doing it tough in the current economic climate will in many cases opt
for the cash now, but they will pay a price
in later years, and so will the government. And it’s a false dichotomy anyway – it’s not as though it’s a genuine trade-off, as though they wouldn’t otherwise receive a pay rise.”
Impacted
Many Australians, including in the print industry, have been financially impacted by Covid-19, including job losses. Media Super saw fewer members than expected take out their two $10,000 early release payments, available under the federal government’s virus support strategy. Griffin, along with many leaders in the super industry, believes this initiative was misguided. He says, “If a young person under 25 took out what would have been the majority of their super, they could be considerably worse off when they retire in 40 years. If that sees them going on the Age Pension, that’s an increased cost for the government and ultimately, the taxpayer.”
He is also not so keen on so-called super stapling, which is the proposed system that would see a worker automatically take their super fund with them each time he or she moves jobs. It is designed to counter the current situation where a person can have multiple funds, with multiple fees, as they may join a new fund each time they change jobs. Griffin says, “The problem with the stapling concept is that if you are initially put into a low performing fund, and that fund follows you around, you can look into it 20 years later and find there is a lot less in the account than one would expect. While avoiding multiple accounts is a positive outcome, we advocate that new employees should be given the time and opportunity to look carefully at their super, and be made aware of other alternatives.”
Griffin is an advocate of financial planning, with Media Super providing multiple levels of advice to its members,
because “everyone’s circumstances are different” and he says those consultations will bring benefits if they take place regularly throughout a lifetime.
Griffin takes over at a pivotal time for the fund, especially as it moves towards a merger with Cbus, and Media Super members will need to be assuaged that their retirement savings will be positioned to achieve the same level of returns they have been used to.
Media Super remains on course to merge with Cbus later this year. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the two funds a year ago, with the comprehensive Due Diligence process signed off at the end of last year. The two funds are now working on a merger plan which will integrate investment, administration and operations.
Part of the drive to merge comes from government, which wants to reduce the number of separate funds, starting with the smaller ones. Cbus has 774,000 members compared to 70,000 in Media Super, and $60bn under management compared to $6bn. Griffin says, “Ultimately though,
the driver behind the decision to seek a merger partner, and choosing Cbus as that potential partner, was by
looking at the long−term
strategy of Media Super,
and the the opportunities of scale in conjunction with our members’ best interests.”
The benefits of the merger should be immediate. Media Super, for instance, as a smaller fund, outsources much of its investment work, while Cbus manages a significant portion of its assets in-house. Cbus is one of the stellar performers.
Investors. Griffin says, “Our approach
is to provide a high degree of portfolio protection. We all know share markets go up and down. Media Super continually seeks strategies to mitigate the impact of falling markets and optimise rising ones. That will continue.”
Media Super plans to continue with its support for the print industry. For many years it has been a major backer of key industry organisations and events, including the National Print Awards, and the Print2Parliament event that sees politicians and printers spend an evening together at Parliament House in
7.83%
Media Super’s ten-year annualised return
                                    Griffin says, “Assuming all
remains on track, the benefits of scale that Media Super should enjoy as part of Cbus will be tangible to members. For instance, our fees, which are already competitive, should decrease. Our access to investment opportunities should increase. And to ever- improving products and services.”
Although Cbus is almost 10 times the size of Media Super, part of the proposed agreement for the merger is that Media Super will remain as a distinct brand. In the proposed new structure, the whole entity will be under the United Super Trustees Board, with Media Super having advisory sub-committee oversight.
Griffin says, “I am confident that Cbus is committed to understanding the members that will be joining through Media Super.”
Following the merger, with the significantly bigger resources of Cbus behind it, Griffin says Media Super will continue with its diversified investment approach, with both Australian and international shares, property, currency, cash and investment in infrastructure projects through its investment with IFM
Figures above are indicative only
Canberra. Griffin says, “Media Super feels it is important that the fund is supporting the industry and its continued evolution, helping to provide opportunities for young people and in backing lobbying for its benefit. We are the industry fund, it is part of our role, it will continue.”
Griffin believes with a passion that an industry super fund is a superior and tax- effective product set for working people to invest for their retirement. He says, “Other vehicles such as SMSFs and residential property have an emotional appeal, but both can take a lot of managing whilst trying to hold down a day job. Investing for the long term through super has proven benefits. I would encourage anyone if they have money to invest, even if it is just $20 a week, to put it into super.”
Media Super has certainly delivered to its print members over the past 30 years, and Griffin says with the fund’s current strategy and the benefits of a merger on the horizon, the future is looking bright for the fund to continue helping its members achieve their best retirement outcomes. 21
$100,000 in fund
Adding $200 a fortnight for 10 years 7.83% Fund = $297,000 3.91% Fund = $211,000
$100,000 in fund
Adding $200 a fortnight for 30 years 7.83% Fund = $1,660,000 3.91% Fund = $618,000
   Print21 MARCH/APRIL 2021 23




























































   21   22   23   24   25