Suncorp Super members will make our future even brighter 

20 April 2023

On 1 June 2023, members of Suncorp Super (now known as the SPSL Master Trust) will be transferred to Brighter Super, bringing even more scale to our industry fund.

Around 130,000 Suncorp Super members will join Brighter Super and bring with them a total of $6.1 billion in funds (which is about the GDP of Fiji) and will represent around one-third of the member base.

In addition, more than 100 Suncorp Super skilled staff are joining the Brighter Super team, bringing expertise and insights to our service offerings.

The transfer includes a team supporting Suncorp Super’s large panel of external financial advisers, who in the future will be able to offer convenient advice services to even more Brighter Super members.

Suncorp Super was acquired by Brighter Super in April 2022, and the two funds have strong Queensland heritage in common. Brighter Super will continue to be headquartered in Brisbane with an additional office in Sydney.

The transfer is happening 30 months earlier than planned, to bring forward the collective benefits of last year's acquisition of to all members. This is the first time in Australia that an industry fund has acquired a retail fund. 

Brighter Super Chairman John Smith said, “In assessing our members’ best financial interests, we recognised that the December 2025 proposed transfer would delay Suncorp Super members having the opportunity to access lower fees and award-winning, consistently high performing products. In addition, an earlier transfer would give our current Brighter Super members the earlier advantage of larger scale and a more diversified portfolio.”

The transfer will specifically bring the following additional benefits to our members in the local government and energy sectors:

• The transfer of funds brings additional liquidity to the Brighter Super portfolio, enabling the further diversification of our portfolio for long-term sustainable performance and returns.
• The new Adviser team supports a network of over 1,200 registered independent financial advisers, which in time all members will be able to access and pay for from their superannuation accounts.
• The transfer will put all members onto a single administrative system which will bring efficiencies and more seamless service to all our members and, over time, allow us to reduce fees still further for all members.

Brighter Super CEO Kate Farrar said the consolidation occurring in the superannuation sector is being driven by cost competitiveness, investment opportunities, growing regulatory complexity and changing member demand for digital and personal financial advice.

“We are very conscious that consolidation also brings with it the challenge of making sure we continue to provide relevant products and service to our industry sectors,” Ms Farrar said.

Our organisation is structured to ensure that we will continue to have specialised teams for each of our industry sectors, providing boutique products and services that make sense for all our industry members.”

The transfer will cement Brighter Super’s position as the fourth largest non-government financial institution headquartered in Queensland.