HOSTPLUS last night won the prestigious SuperRatings® 2006/2007 Super Fund of the Year award in recognition for providing the best value for money to members in Australia.
HOSTPLUS won the award over nine other finalists – AGEST, Australian Super, CARE Super, Health Super Fund, HESTA Super Fund, MTAA Super, REST super, Sunsuper, and UniSuper.
For the 2006/07 Fund of the Year Award, SuperRatings® assessed over 240 of Australia’s major superannuation products, the largest such assessment ever undertaken. Areas reviewed included quantitative and qualitative assessments of: investments, fees, insurance; service delivery; member education; financial planning facilities; employer support and Fund Governance.
Managing Director of SuperRatings, Jeff Bresnahan, commended HOSTPLUS’ win and said their success was underpinned by consistency, not only from an investment perspective, but also for their ability to reach members via education, advice and branding.
“The competition for this coveted award is always close. The industry has never before seen such a high standard of well run, value for money funds. However, HOSTPLUS’ growth, innovation and performance has been significant, particularly at a time of heightened competition within the sector, and this bears testimony that this organisation has got it right for its members,” Mr Bresnahan said.
“HOSTPLUS’ Board and Executives have demonstrated that there is room to differentiate within this market by making strategic decisions which focus on the medium and long term development of the fund.
“Overall, we believe that HOSTPLUS has executed their strategy extremely well, all within suitable governance standards and backed by a strong and balanced board structure. We expect the fund to continue to deliver its strong value proposition to its almost three quarters of a million members,” he said.
CEO, Mr David Elia, welcomed the award and said it was a tribute to his board and organisation for their contribution for growing HOSTPLUS and delivering improved benefits and great returns for members.
“This award is a real tribute to everyone that makes HOSTPLUS tick, day in day out. I would like to thank our progressive board who give us the courage and freedom to find and develop clear points of difference for our fund. Our staff across Australia whose relentless focus on our employers and members is truly inspiring and clearly a reflection of this award today,” he said.
“Most importantly however, we would like to thank our 740,000 plus loyal members and 38,000 plus businesses within the hospitality, tourism, recreation and sport industry that have supported us over the last 19 years and have allowed us to grow to the $5.3 Billion fund that we are today,” he said.
Accolades of this kind are not new to HOSTPLUS. HOSTPLUS currently boast a platinum rating from SuperRatings®, a AAA quality rating from Rainmaker, a 5 Apples rating from Chant West Financial Services and was recently awarded a 5 Star rating from the Heron Partnership – all the highest ratings possible from these firms.
In 2004/05 HOSTPLUS was recognised by winning the SuperRatings® “Rising Star” Award provided to the fund that has demonstrated a clear commitment to improving the value of their offering to members.
In 2004, David Elia, was named as the 2004/05 Fund Executive of the Year by the Fund Executive Association Limited (FEAL) in recognition for his outstanding achievement and leadership in the superannuation industry. ENDS
For further information please contact:
Mr David Elia, HOSTPLUS, Tel 03 8636 7777
Bree Taylor, Burson-Marsteller , Tel 03 9426 1319