The $200 million Lifetime Master Trust (LMT) has replaced most underlying managers and cut several investment options following a review.
Under the changes unveiled last week, the former Aon master trust has dropped ANZ, Nikko and Russell Investments from its line-up while retaining Milford Asset Management in the mix.
As well as Milford, the revamped LMT manager list includes Fisher Funds, Kernel, Mercer and Simplicity.
The new LMT investment menu also aligns with managers recently appointed to the similarly sized Superannuation Master Trust, which Lifetime took over from AMP this January.
Lifetime paid Fisher about $3.2 million for the Aon master trust last July, hiring consultancy firm, EriksensGlobal, soon after to review the investment arrangements. Fisher runs a $550 million employer superannuation master trust but chose to offload the scheme while retaining the Aon KiwiSaver assets scooped up in a $32 million combo deal late in 2021.
In August last year, Fisher bulk-shifted the Aon KiwiSaver members to its in-house funds from the previous underlying managers (which mirrored those of the employer super scheme).
As part of the LMT makeover, the scheme has closed five single asset class funds to new members leaving investors a choice of three diversified strategies, three target-date funds, a cash fund (managed by Fisher) and the active growth fund (Milford).
In the diversified and target date funds, Mercer takes charge of global fixed income, international shares and Australian equities – outsourced, respectively, to UBS, Legal & General, and Macquarie – and Fisher runs cash and NZ bonds.
Meanwhile, Simplicity fills the NZ shares spot and Kernel runs local listed property portfolio.
Most LMT members will likely see a cost reduction under the revised product set with the diversified and target date funds priced around 1.4 per cent compared to 2 per cent or more in Aon days. Even the LMT Milford version is slightly cheaper at an estimated 2.05 per cent versus 2.10 per cent previously while the Fisher-managed cash fund costs 1.37 per cent, saving 20 or 30 basis points on Aon options.
The Ralph Stewart-founded Lifetime now has about $600 million under management spread across its two super schemes, a retirement income product and a UK pension transfer fund.