Paul Rohan

The wealth division of Bendigo and Adelaide Bank is pleased to announce the introduction of the new Bendigo Socially Responsible Growth Fund.

Sandhurst Trustees, issuer of the new product is also pleased to be able to announce that the new fund has attained certification from the Responsible Investment Association Australasia.

Head of Wealth, Paul Rohan said: “Many of our customers told us that it would be great if they could extend their commitment to a low-impact lifestyle to their chosen superannuation fund as well. Making good choices is important for younger members in particular and their compulsory retirement savings can now be a power for good with Bendigo, potentially over many decades”.

“We decided that the most efficient way to roll out and deliver the new Bendigo Socially Responsible Growth Fund was to offer it not only as a standalone fund for investors, but also as a choice in our multi-award winning Bendigo SmartStart Super fund”.

“SmartStart Super customers can now choose to make a personal statement as to how their money is invested and benefit from competitive fund focussed on maximising returns through a responsible investment regime”.

Mr Rohan said: “To limit our environmental footprint as a bank, we make conscious decisions to reduce and offset our impact and we help others to do the same by offering sustainable products and services.

“Sustainability is a path of continuous improvement for Bendigo Bank, as evidenced by our modern award-winning buildings in both Bendigo HQ and Adelaide and we will continue to implement positive action to reduce our impact on the environment and help other companies and individuals to do the same.

“Almost 15 years ago, Bendigo Bank launched Australia’s first ‘green loans’ – lower-cost loans for sustainable housing or home improvements such as water tanks, double glazing, solar energy and the like, so the Bendigo Socially Responsible Growth Fund is a logical extension to these early initiatives.

“While many of our Bendigo SmartStart customers are Gen Y and Millennials, it was their parents’ generation who were largely responsible for organising some of the most significant campaigns in our modern history to protect Australia’s environment and to drive social change. Hopefully, it won’t be too long before their parents twig to the fact that you don’t just have to have your superannuation invested with us to access the Bendigo Socially Responsible Growth Fund too”, Mr Rohan concluded.

The Bendigo Socially Responsible Growth Fund:

• is certified by the Responsible Investment Association of Australasia
• engages Sustainalytics, a responsible investment research firm, to provide ongoing, independent reporting to assist in meeting the Fund’s environmental, social and governance considerations.

Simon O’Connor, Chief Executive Officer of the Responsible Investment Association of Australasia said: “RIAA welcomes Bendigo Bank to our Certification Program with the new Bendigo Socially Responsible Growth Fund. This fund has met our strict disclosure and verification requirements, and will be an important offering to meet the rapidly growing demand from consumers who are looking to align their savings with their values.”

Find out more about the fund.

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Paul Rohan, Head of Wealth at Bendigo and Adelaide Bank said: “The Sandhurst Select Mortgage Fund has been steadily growing in popularity with our customers and this is a wonderful milestone for the bank and our Sandhurst Trustees business in particular”.

“Sandhurst adopts a disciplined and conservative approach to funds management and one of our key investment objectives is the preservation of investor capital. It’s a source of considerable pride within our company that during the GFC, we were one of the few Australian investment managers to keep mortgage funds open and pay withdrawals within normal timeframes”.

“Throughout the full range of market conditions over the past 20 years, the Sandhurst Select Mortgage Fund has met or exceeded the indicative return rate announced at the beginning of each quarter more than 86% of the time”.

“Our customers continue to see this fund as an attractive, value for money alternative to traditional cash deposits, particularly given that we have a competitive management fee and do not charge account keeping fees, entry or exit fees”.

“Sandhurst Trustees has a long history of providing quality financial services and products and has a demonstrated ability to effectively manage customer wealth during the most difficult and challenging economic periods”.

“It may have taken us 128 years to become an overnight sensation, but increasingly, our customers are realising the benefits of Sandhurst’s range of cost effective, award-winning products available through our growing Bendigo Bank retail branch network”, Mr Rohan concluded.

Sandhurst has $1,208M in FUM across its two mortgage funds. Fund FUM as at 31st March 2016:

• Sandhurst Select Mortgage Fund $1,002M
• Sandhurst Investment Term Fund $206M

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“This award caps off a strong year for Sandhurst and our long standing partner, Investors Mutual Limited (IML), with IML recently being awarded the 2012 Morningstar Award for Domestic Equities. ” said Head of Sandhurst Trustees, Paul Rohan. 

“The Sandhurst IML Industrial Share Fund was named as the best performing large-cap fund against a field of many strong competitors. Established in 2001 the Sandhurst IML Industrial Share Fund has returned 8.66% p.a. since inception and over the 12 months to 30 June 2012 delivered a return of 6.33%.” 

“The Sandhurst IML Industrial Share Fund is intended to suit an investor primarily seeking long-term capital growth and income from a diversified portfolio of Australian industrial shares”, Mr Rohan concluded. 

Head of Funds Management at Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, Richard Morice, said: “We are very pleased to be partnering with IML.  They have a proven track record in managing Australian equities and focus on quality and value when researching companies.

Their approach and the Fund’s strategy provide customers with the opportunity to invest in a professionally managed portfolio of industrial shares that exhibits lower volatility compared to the total equity market”, Mr Morice concluded.

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Bendigo Wealth, the wealth management division of Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, is backed by the heritage and strength of over 150 years of banking, investment and lending expertise.

SmartStart Super features a full suite of low cost (0.39 to 0.99bp) index and actively managed funds – including brand new age-based default funds designed to meet a client’s life stage, investment preference, risk profile and preferred contribution methods.

Bendigo Wealth has partnered with TAL Life Ltd to provide a generous and highly competitive goup life insurance cover as part of the SmartStart Super offering.

Head of Sandhurst Trustees, Paul Rohan said,“Sandhurst Trustees, one of the oldest and most experienced parts of the Bendigo business has developed a new, affordable and easy to understand superannuation product flexible enough to suit most Australians.”

“We designed and built SmartStart Super as part of our ongoing commitment across the Bendigo and Adelaide Bank group to provide solutions, however our customers choose to engage with us.”

“Customers can expect our traditional hassle-free service, ease of understanding, fast turnaround times and the flexibility they need to help them achieve their retirement savings goals”. Mr Rohan concluded.

Alexandra Tullio, Head of Wealth markets said, “We understand that everyone is different and that super can be seen as complex and confronting, so Bendigo Wealth is offering a superannuation recipe for retirement that makes it easy for people to keep it low cost and simple.”

The SmartStart Super offering ranges from the plain and simple ‘set and forget’ default approach to a full suite of either actively managed or indexed diversified funds – or indeed a mix of both, meaning investors can take a core satellite approach.

The core satellite is effectively the ‘buffet’, where people who really want to take control of their retirement savings can determine how they choose, build and personalise their own super plan – according to their needs and investment convictions.

This flexibility includes brand new age-based default funds designed to meet a client’s life stage, risk profile and preferred contribution methods, along with a range of online services. The underlying managed funds in SmartStart Super offer low management fees ranging from just 0.39% to 0.99% p.a. What’s more, the administration fee for SmartStart Super is only $98 p.a.

“All the funds have specialist managers managing the investments and SmartStart offers generous and highly competitive group life insurance cover. We believe this is a particularly attractive feature, given that only around 5% of Australian families with dependent children have the recommended level of risk protection cover,” said Tullio.

“SmartStart Super is well suited to younger people starting out in their careers. The product is expected to be ideal for investors ranging from 20 to 50 years of age who are looking to consolidate funds and kickstart their retirement savings.”

“SmartStart Super is low cost but high customer support – and we’ll continue to make sure that fees and charges are kept to an absolute bare minimum”, concluded Ms Tullio.

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