AFCA’s independent Board Chair, Professor John Pollaers OAM, said the board was excited to welcome Raylene and Yien, who would bring a wide breadth of skills and knowledge to their roles.

“Both of these highly successful women are the perfect fit for AFCA’s board, and their appointments ensure the organisation will continue to provide an independent, free and fair external dispute resolution service for financial disputes in Australia,” Professor Pollaers said.

The AFCA Board consists of an independent chair and an equal number of directors with consumer and industry experience, covering the multi-dimensional and highly complex industries AFCA deals with.

Raylene Bellottie is a proud Nanda woman from Yamatji country with a wealth of expertise as an Aboriginal business director, consultant and board member.

Raylene has extensive financial sector experience of over 25 years. She is deeply committed to enhancing Indigenous financial literacy and has served as the Deputy Chair of the First Nations Foundation for more than 10 years. The Foundation strives to promote economic freedom for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

She gained valuable experience during her tenure at ANZ Bank, later joining Credit Union Australia (CUA) as the National Business Development Manager of First Nations accounts, where she was instrumental in expanding the First Nations Portfolio from $17 million to over $200 million.

Raylene is currently a business coach for the Waalitj Foundation, where she provides guidance and support to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to enhance their competence and capability building. In addition, she has held various roles with the Indigenous Advisory Group, the Indigenous Financial Service Network, and as the Deputy Chairperson for Nanda Aboriginal Corporation. Raylene is currently a member and director of Yamatji Southern Regional Corporation and Chairperson of Yamatji Funds Management Ltd.

“Raylene’s remarkable career in the finance sector along with her experience working with small businesses, means she has a strong understanding of the important work AFCA does,” said Professor Pollaers.

Yien Hong is General Counsel and Company Secretary at Judo Bank, Australia’s only purpose-built challenger business bank for small and medium enterprises, which listed on the ASX in November 2021.

Yien has had an impressive executive career, having held senior roles in Australia and internationally across firms including Deutsche Bank, NAB and Linklaters.

Prior to joining Judo Bank, she was General Counsel and Company Secretary at Growthpoint Properties Australia, an ASX-200 listed property fund. Yien was also Senior Legal Counsel at NAB, providing legal advice and support to the bank’s business banking division.

Yien’s international experience includes three years as the Head of FX and Fixed Income Prime Brokerage Legal at Deutsche Bank, London, where she led a team that supported the structured derivatives business. Before joining Deutsche Bank, Yien held a senior role with global law firm Linklaters, delivering client solutions for private equity acquisitions, cross-border financings and complex structured finance transactions.

With a passion for social justice, Yien served for five years as the Director and Chair of the Development Committee at YWCA Housing (YWCA Victoria), working to provide accommodation and other services to disadvantaged women. Yien also currently serves as a non-executive director of the Australian Arts Orchestra, one of Australia’s leading contemporary ensembles.

“Yien’s impressive executive career, strong legal background and solid understanding of governance, underpinned with a strong sense of social justice, makes her an excellent fit for AFCA and an important addition to the board,” said Professor Pollaers.

Raylene and Yien will replace current AFCA board members Claire Mackay and Andrew Fairley AM. Claire joined the AFCA board in May 2018 and Andrew in July 2018.

“Claire and Andrew played such an important part in AFCA’s first five years, as founding directors,” Professor Pollaers said. “They both provided invaluable knowledge and expertise during their tenures and we thank them for the significant contributions they have made in helping AFCA to become the world-class ombudsman service it is today.”

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Andrew Fairley and Danny Casey

Two top-10, profit-to-member superannuation funds today successfully joined forces, paving the way for other funds to join. Governed by a new, skills-based board of 12 directors, Equip and Catholic Super’s $26 billion venture will manage funds for 150,000 members with an aspiration to be a much larger entity by 2025.

Andrew Fairley, Chairman, said the unique tie-up sets the scene for further industry consolidation. “This is a new dawn and a new era for super mergers as we scale up to benefit members under an extended public offer (EPO) licence,” he said.

“At a time when funds are being urged to merge, Equip and Catholic Super have a rare opportunity to be one of the industry’s great growth stories. We’re open for business with an APRA-approved licence, attractive to funds that are keen to drive down costs while maintaining their distinctive brands and member engagement that they’ve always been known for.

“While other funds are talking about merging, Equip and Catholic Super are ‘getting on with it’. The EPO licence was issued three years ago. The Catholic Super Board has had the courage to embrace the model, breaking new ground while being agile, innovative and aware of the reform backdrop that is shaping the future of our super industry.”

Danny Casey, Deputy Chair (former Catholic Super Chair), noted the new model’s member benefits. He encouraged other funds to follow suit and consolidate under a ground-breaking house-of-brands model that grows funds under management.

“As trustees we have a firm obligation to act in our members best interests. With the industry being challenged to consolidate further, funds that are seeking to ensure they can deliver sustainable member outcomes are encouraged to be part of this new and innovative approach. We’ve studied this model and unlocked the potential to join forces and maintain our super fund’s heritage. Those who join can retain their distinct identity that attracted members to their fund of choice in the first place. For example, our Catholic Super members, who care for and educate millions of Australians every day, will retain their high-performing brand and exceptional service from their award-winning, in-house service centre.”

Further bolstering both funds’ strong history of exceptional performance, consistently ranking in top-10* superannuation fund league tables, a new chief executive was announced in August to head both funds. Scott Cameron has extensive experience leading integrated operations and bringing diverse businesses together. More recently, Anna Shelley was confirmed as the inaugural Chief Investment Officer for both funds, managing assets and investments under the $26 billion joint venture model.

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Anna Shelley

Progress towards the ground-breaking joint venture between is continuing with the appointment of Anna Shelley as Chief Investment Officer for both funds.

Ms Shelley’s appointment follows last week’s announcement that Mr Scott Cameron, the former Chief Executive of Computershare in Australia and New Zealand, would head both funds and be CEO of the joint venture when it begins operating in October.  The opportunity to appoint a CIO for both funds was brought forward following the resignation of Equip’s current CIO, Troy Rieck last week.

Equip Super and Catholic Super are joining forces to create one of Australia’s largest profit-for-member superannuation funds.

Ms Shelley is currently CIO of Catholic Super. Equip Super Chairman Andrew Fairley AM, welcomed Ms Shelley’s appointment as another significant step towards a successful joint venture.

“This CIO appointment is an opportunity to align the two funds from an investment perspective and strongly position us for further growth,” Mr Fairley said. “It brings greater business continuity and enhances our capacity to continue to deliver for members, with scope for additional expansion.”

Mr Fairley also expressed his appreciation to outgoing Equip CIO Troy Rieck for his contribution to the fund.

Peter Haysey, Acting Chair of Catholic Super, said: “I’m delighted that Anna Shelley has been appointed as the joint CIO of both Catholic Super and Equip Super. Anna is an experienced leader with an extensive investment management and business strategy background and has been impressive during her time at Catholic Super.

“Both investment teams have begun working extensively to bring together the two existing investment portfolios. We look forward to Anna leading the teams through the joint venture operating model as we prepare for a full merger”.

Ms Shelley said she was looking forward to bringing both teams together, with a common vision and strategy to assist the joint venture.

“Both Equip Super and Catholic Super are high-performing industry leaders,” Ms Shelley said. “By aligning our strategies and portfolios we will deliver the best outcomes for our superannuation members.”

Ms Shelley was appointed CIO of the $10 billion Catholic Super fund in April 2018. She has held several senior positions across the financial services sector. Before joining Catholic Super, she was General Manager, Product and Strategy at Perpetual, an Australian investment manager with assets totalling $30 billion. Prior to Perpetual, she was head of investment product at MLC Investment Management, where she was responsible for developing NAB’s MySuper strategy.

Ms Shelley has recently been invited to join Bloomberg’s New Voices initiative, promoting the inclusion of leading women in commentary about the financial sector.

The Equip Super and Catholic Super joint venture has been hailed as a ground-breaking move towards consolidation in the industry. Subject to completion of final due diligence, the Memorandum of Understanding will establish a Joint Venture Trustee managing funds for about 150,000 members.

The joint venture’s unique structure maintains both superannuation brands. At completion, the joint venture will have a combined funds under management (FUM) of $26 billion, making it Australia’s tenth largest profit-for-member fund in market.

Under the structure, funds will share a single trustee which will be led by a new, merged trustee board. This Extended Public Offer (EPO) model enables participating funds to achieve economies of scale in administration and investments, without loss of brand identity or control of relationships with members, employers and other stakeholders.

Mr Fairley said the license, which enables it to partner with other funds while allowing their brands to be retained, should assist the new fund to build to around $50 billion in funds under management by 2025.

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Andrew Fairley and Danny Casey

Two of Australia’s best-performing superannuation funds are preparing a ground-breaking Joint Venture that will be a significant move towards consolidation in the industry.

The trustees of Equip Super and Catholic Super have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, which, subject to completion of final due diligence, will establish a Joint Venture Trustee – initially managing over $26 billion in funds for about 150,000 members. Both funds have a history of exceptional performance, consistently ranking in the top ten of superannuation funds.

The move comes as funds in the superannuation industry seek to improve member outcomes and best interests through the economies of scale consolidation can deliver.

Catholic Super and Equip have reaffirmed their commitment to a skills-based governance structure focused on the interests of members, with a third of all directors to be independent. Both are profit to member funds and are aligned in terms of vision and values.

Equipsuper Chair, Andrew Fairley AM, said he was delighted to enter into the MOU with a like-minded fund that focused on profits solely for the benefit of members, and endorsed a skills-based selection of trustees – one third from members, one third from employers and one third independent.

“This joint venture would contain costs and improve efficiency, bringing real benefits to members,” Mr Fairley said. “It is positive proof the Extended Public Offer (EPO) model provides a solution to funds who value their brands and connection to community, while enabling economies of scale.”

“This joint venture will be ideally positioned for future growth. This structure will drive stronger performance through efficiencies and scale of investments.”

Equip boasts a consistently high investment performance, among SuperRatings’ top ten super funds over all periods in the decade to 31 December 2018.

Chair of Catholic Super, Danny Casey, said the Joint Venture had many benefits for all. “The Joint Venture is the perfect pathway, bringing our members the benefits of scale while retaining the Catholic Super identity and strong connection with those working in Catholic institutions and communities,” he said.

“Catholic organisations are one of our country’s largest employer groups who care for and educate millions of Australians every day. For nearly 50 years Catholic Super has invested wisely to grow the life savings and retirement income for nearly 75,000 super members – many of whom are hard-working teachers and nurses. We are committed to continuing this member-driven focus within the Joint Venture.”

Catholic Super also brings a top ten track record to the Joint Venture. It was recently ranked by Canstar as one of the six top funds in Australia across a broad range of consumer groups for its combination of investment returns, fees, insurance options and access to advice and information. Catholic Super won the Roy Morgan 2018 Customer Satisfaction Award for Industry Superannuation Fund of The Year.

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