Getting financial advice to these members would go a long way to closing the yawning gap between those who receive advice, and those who don’t.

It is estimated that only about 20 per cent of adult Australians currently use the services of financial planners, and a significant portion of the remaining 80 per cent are members of industry superannuation funds.

ISA funds aren’t the only not-for-profit super funds – a number of significant funds sit outside the ISA framework but are still classified as industry funds, meaning they don’t charge commissions, and return all profits to members.

According to Robbie Campo, ISA’s deputy chief executive: “Industry funds were created in the mid-1980s. We’re really about halfway to maturity. In about 20 years, the first generation of industry fund members will be retiring; that will mean more people who need advice.”

Industry super fund members have relatively low balances at retirement compared to members of retail funds – about $100,000 is the average – and the economics of getting advice to these members often don’t work for traditional financial planning approaches.

So industry funds have been quietly, but consistently, building in-house financial advice capabilities and forming strategic partnerships with like-minded fee-for-service planners.

Industry super funds have also developed their own financial planning services as a defensive measure for retaining members, and protecting them from being switched into higher-cost retail superannuation products.

An advertising campaign run by ISA in 2011 has been a long-running source of animosity for some financial planners. Many believe industry funds are anti-advice. According to Campo, they aren’t, and never have been – they are merely anti-conflicted remuneration.

“I think that, post-FoFA [Future of Financial Advice], there is quite a different relationship between advisers and super funds,” she says.

“The animosity and scepticism is diminishing, as there’s been recognition that actually, we’re very aligned in terms of wanting to create a professional framework for advice.”

A perception that the advice capabilities within industry funds were inferior to those of external planners was also part of this.

“We’ve always made sure that [our planners are] very highly qualified,” Campo says.

“You still need to meet the regulatory requirements, and we strongly support that. There’s a very high barrier.”

Against commissions in all forms

Robbie Campo

Though not formally involved in the formation of the Life Insurance Framework, ISA has been a vocal participant in the broader debate, and wants commissions to be banned entirely.

“We still have quite a strong position on insurance commissions, and really think that there should be dedicated work toward phasing them out entirely, [but] there would need to be a transition period,” Campo says.

She does not believe industry funds’ push into greater provision of advice is perpetuating another form of conflict between ISA and the broader advice community.

“I think the history of it was, funds moved into this [ISA] because most of the rest of the industry were still paying commissions,” she says.

“So in order to ensure that our members aren’t impacted by commissions, and because our funds don’t pay commissions [they moved]. But I think that, post-FoFA, it does create an environment where there’s a different relationship.”

Additionally, because of the sheer scale of members involved in industry funds, she believes partnerships with external financial planning practices are necessary and inevitable.

The industry fund flagship

AustralianSuper, the country’s largest superannuation fund and the flagship of ISA, is adopting a joint approach of digital engagement strategy and outsourced planning partnerships.

“Traditionally industry funds have had a very high level of disengagement, [largely because of] the default arrangements and the low average super account balances,” says Shawn Blackmore, group executive, member experience and advice, AustralianSuper.

“But we are starting to see, as people are in the system a bit longer, that’s starting to change from what it was 10 years ago, which in itself is helping create engagement.”

The sheer scale of AustralianSuper creates a serious challenge in seeking to make advice accessible to its more than two million members. Blackmore asks how they can possibly meet members’ demands for advice, “if they all rush to get it; that’s going to be the trick for us in a few years’ time”.

Recent figures indicate that in the 2014-15 financial year, 370,000 AustralianSuper members received online intra-fund advice and 14,100 took up phone advice.

The utilisation of face-to-face advice was considerably lower, with 3555 and 1150 members receiving in-house intra-fund and external intra-fund advice, respectively, from a planner.

AustralianSuper employs 20 advisers delivering phone-based intra-fund advice; and 20 planners and an education team of around 30 through its external advice service team.

In 2012, it also launched an external partnership program, calling for independent financial advisers who want to be part of its advice delivery.

“There was a lot of scepticism about whether there would be any interest, but we can’t keep up with demand from IFAs [independent financial advisers] who want to be part of it,” Blackmore says.

Contrary to the concerns some advisers may have about industry funds locking them out of a massive potential advice client base, this move wasn’t merely about referring members to pre-vetted planners.

Blackmore explains there are two clear groups among planners they work with: those who want to receive referrals from the fund, and those who already have a large number of existing AustralianSuper members as clients.

“That second part was something we didn’t have enough awareness of when we first started, but the numbers of industry fund members that already have a relationship with a non-aligned financial planner are quite high, and in many cases they want to retain their fund, but want to receive good quality advice,” he says.

“You roll that back even five years ago, and [the member] would generally have to change products [to get the financial advice].”

Blackmore says planners want the ability to access the fund and to get the basic servicing details right.

“Their environment is changing rather quickly, but the value they can add is through the provision of advice, not the provision of product, and that’s driving a different model for them, to be able to demonstrate the value they provide,” he says.

Breaking down the walls

“I think the barriers are coming down. When I look at what we’re trying to achieve…for the short term, we did try to limit the number of planning groups we were having relationships with,” Blackmore says.

However, this was during what he calls the greenfield stage, when AustralianSuper had to understand the level of service demand, “so we didn’t want to just
open it up and deal with everyone”.

This learning process has highlighted a number of other systems and processes it needed to implement, such as a web portal for advisers to access the relevant member details – something retail dealer groups have used for a long time.

“Now that we’ve got that in place…once we get the technology solution in place, we should be able to open up the channel to any adviser,” Blackmore says. “What we will look to do is ring-fence who we give referrals to, and to have deeper referral processes with certain groups…and one that is scalable.”

For AustralianSuper, he says the economics of building a big in-house team of planners just didn’t stack up.

“It just wasn’t a core business for us,” he says.

Instead, it will continue to build its internal intra-fund advice capabilities through the digital channel, while outsourcing advice for members wanting more complex, comprehensive financial advice.

“That’s the massive challenge. But we’re starting to see that starting to increase,” Blackmore says.

“A lot see advice as something only rich people get…for us, it’s more about engagement and help rather than advice.”

He believes digital technology will lower the entry point into advice – something AustralianSuper uses to help triage people through the advice proposition, and to cut out some of the inefficiencies.

Sunsuper is another big fund that’s focusing on building its access to digital advice, and also to external planners, instead of creating a large team of in-house financial advisers.

Anne Fuchs, Sunsuper’s national manager of retail distribution and advice, multiple channels, says: “We’re neutral in terms of which channel our members choose. All we want them to do is get advice.”

“We know people are materially and psychologically better off if they get advice,” she says.

“We’re working on our virtual advice. Robo-advice hasn’t come to fruition yet, but that will be a channel in the short term.”

Fuchs believes concerns about industry funds moving into greater provision of advice are understandable, but unwarranted.

“There’s always going to be a segment that, because of the historical goings on, will see it as a threat, but certainly, there’s been wonderful firms I’ve met at both the AFA [Association of Financial Advisers] and FPA [Financial Planning Association] that have become product neutral,” she says.

“They charge a fee for service, they act in clients’ best interests, they’re adopting behavioural finance et cetera.”

Sunsuper is one of a handful of industry funds to partner with the FPA in order to access Certified Financial Planner (CFP) accredited planners.

Cbus was one of the first super funds to roll out a similar program in mid-2014, followed by AustralianSuper and Sunsuper. However, Fuchs emphasises that the way Sunsuper has structured its national advice panel is quite different to the others.

“We have our memorandum of understanding with the FPA, but that’s really been something to ensure integrity as we established the national advice panel;
but we’re sourcing the firms directly,” she says.

“I’m responsible for this…I really need to eyeball the advisers myself, look at their FSGs [financial services guides], their offices…I’m not comfortable with a middle body taking on that responsibility; though that’s not a criticism of the FPA.”

Currently, with more than one million members, Sunsuper has access to planners from around 35 firms, with this number growing rapidly.

Digital disruption in super advice

Jeremy Duffield

Since retiring from Vanguard in 2010, Jeremy Duffield has focused on building what he believes is a better way of engaging with super fund members on retirement planning. SuperEd is a virtual advice platform that uses digital techniques to engage with pre- and post-retirement clients on what their prospects are likely to be, and to assist them with creating and implementing a plan.

Speaking about planners in this space, he says: “They need to look to digital to really change the economics of supply of advice…and look at it as a continuing journey, not just Statements of Advice.

“You’ve got to find a way to get the member engaged, to find a way to take them on a journey as they approach retirement.”

Duffield doesn’t believe industry funds’ expanding provision of financial advice poses a threat to financial planners who aren’t already part of the industry fund network.

“No, I don’t think the traditional financial planner is threatened,” he says. “I think there are plenty of opportunities to service the traditional high-net-worth clients they work with.”

Duffield believes the traditional ways of providing advice are simply not accessible to mass-market Australians, so different approaches and solutions
are needed.

“It’s not saying that more traditional ways of telephone-centred and face-to-face advice aren’t important,” he says. “It’s just that you’ve got to complement that with something that’s more cost-effective, and try to use it to make advice more cost-effective as well.”

The Award recognises the top up and coming, innovative advisers, who have been providing financial advice for three years or less. Advisers are judged on the quality of their financial advice, their commitment to education, and their contribution to their profession and to their community, particularly in the area of financial literacy.

The finalists have an ongoing commitment to their own professional development and display an ‘X factor’, proving their worthiness for this year’s Award.

AFA CEO, Brad Fox, said, “Now, more than ever, it’s important to the growth of the profession that we attract and retain talent. This Award is a way to uncover that talent and to share their early successes with the wider advice market.”

Each finalist attended a full day judging process in Sydney in front of a panel that included ANZ Wealth’s Don Sillar, Head of Sales, AFA National Vice President and 2013 Adviser of the Year winner, Jenny Brown and two previous Rising Star winners: AFA Victorian State Director, Chris Browne (2007) and AFA Chief Executive, Brad Fox (2008).

Mr Fox said, “The quality of this year’s nominees was incredibly high, and just choosing the finalists was a tough job. It is a great example of how the AFA Rising Star Award has achieved one of its key objectives envisioned when it commenced – to attract and foster new talent towards a career in financial advice.”

ANZ Global Wealth’s Managing Director, Advice and Open Market, Neil Younger, said, “As a sponsor of the Award for the 11th year, we are delighted to nurture the talented nominees who took part in the awards process. The Award provides an opportunity for participants to gain insights from other advisers and to build their networks. We believe new advisers will be key to sustaining the industry’s growth into the future.”

The 2015 Rising Star of the Year Award finalists are:

·       Katherine Cairns from Peel Wealth Financial Planning in Perth

·       Declan Doolan from Mr Insurance in Brisbane

·       Kylie George from Harvest Wealth in Mildura

·       Adrian Patty from AP Financial Solutions in Sydney

·       Mark Richardson from Duncan Financial Advisers in Coffs Harbour

·       Corey Wastle from Verse Wealth in Melbourne

The Award winner will be announced at the AFA National Adviser Conference in Cairns, Sunday 25 October 2015. For more information on the AFA Rising Star of the Year Award, see: www.afarisingstar.com.au. To register for the AFA National Adviser Conference, visit: www.afaconference.com.au.

Source: AFA

Some of the key numbers: more than 930,000 customer advice files; 350,000 affected households; and 23,000 customers who expressed an interest in the program.

The program has paid more than $950,000 in compensation to former clients of Commonwealth Financial Planning and CBA’s affiliated Australian Financial Services licensee Financial Wisdom, according to the most recent report issued by Promontory Financial Group.

Tom Reddacliff, principal, Reddacliff Consulting, believes the ongoing CBA program demonstrates an additional area of risk for financial planning practices, particularly for those outside the well-capitalised institutional AFS licensees.

“I think people underestimate the sheer number of documents generated per practice, even just one financial planning practice that’s been around for 15-20 years.

“Conventional wisdom has been suggestoing that creating a paperless office was a nice thing to do. I think its now been shown as something absolutely essential. In terms of risk management, you can’t do analytics with paper files, and that’s’ becoming a key factor,” Reddacliff says.

Promontory Financial Group’s latest report into CBA’s Open Advice Review indicates a total of 615 full time equivalent staff have been engaged in the painstaking process of locating, digitising and processing client files.

“[To address] this ‘needle in a haystack’ problem, CBA had to employ 600-plus people. When you consider most compliance teams [for institutions] are about a dozen people, this gives you an idea of the quantum and complexity of the problem.

“It’s this whole system – does it need a complete rethink?” Reddacliff says,

While high-powered software is now employed across much of the financial planning industry, enabling secure storage and retrieval of client information, he suggests it is the industry’s massive legacy books that pose the biggest problem.

Finding FinWiz files

In the case of CBA, it has faced considerable difficulties tracing a number of files from its aligned AFS licensee Financial Wisdom (FWL). As at August 19, it was still trying to locate hard-copy files for half of the FWL cases in the review program.

Sonia Cruz, senior consultant, The Fold – a law firm specialising in legal compliance for financial services firms – says her former employer AMP faced similar challenges after its 2007 enforceable undertaking, when it had to review client files created between 2003 and 2007.

“AMP has an enormous number of ARs, and during that time, a lot of the advisers maintained paper files and kept their own systems. In a lot of cases, they sent in the original paper file, so that took quite a bit of time [to collate],” Cruz says.

Initially engaged on the project for three months, her involvement blew out to 12 months.

“I spent the whole time going through files, and depending on the length of the files…if it was a client that the adviser had for many years, in some cases you’d need to look back at historical data.

“In some cases we had to directly interview the adviser as well, which makes it very difficult,” she says.

Cruz suggests AMP’s long background as a life insurance broker means some of the advisers had been in the industry for well over 20 or 30 years.

“So they weren’t necessarily as tech savvy as some of these guys now, so [a culture of] maintaining online information wasn’t very strong.”

In terms of the ongoing process at CBA, she says: “I don’t envy them, it’s a tough job.”

Perhaps most worrying of all, Cruz adds: “It’s probably going to end up costing them more to go through the exercise than what they pay out to investors, there’s a lot of people involved.”

In recent weeks investors with a diversified portfolio and an appropriate investment strategy, would have seen the benefits the discipline of this brings.

“The big losers from the recent equity market volatility would have been investors who have a strong weighting to the Australian equity market, who have not stuck to a long term diversified approach, and who have reacted to the general market nervousness.

“Investors who have maintained a diversified approach and only have a portion of their capital invested in Australian equities would have reduced the impact of any loss.

Mr Bryant said the importance of investing internationally has again been clearly highlighted.

“While there are certainly a number of economic concerns throughout the world, these have been well aired for some time now. Investors should not let this put them off investing outside of Australia as this is where many of the compelling opportunities lie.

“International shares are likely to perform better than Australian shares in the future.

“It is not news that “commodity prices” have been shrinking for a while and that Australian miners are adversely affected. As it is now, resource stocks only represent 14 per cent of the ASX 200, less than half of the 30 per cent it represented in 2008. This percentage has scope to reduce further.

“With the Australian dollar also in long term decline, there is now less risk in international shares than there is in the local market.”

Nevertheless, Mr Bryant also pointed out that a focus on bad news and the market reaction to this has resulted in some of the positive signs for the domestic economy being overlooked.

“While high cost Australian resource producers will continue to feel the pressure, companies in other sectors could do well.

“There is positive news for other sectors, such as the still solid monthly building approvals – even though they are slowing a little they are up 14 per cent on the last year. There is growth in private credit (up 6 per cent); improvement in building loans (up 5 per cent); and an anticipated improvement in retail figures leading up to the Christmas season that could help individual companies do well.

“The Reserve Bank appears to be keeping a close watch on the local economy, adopting a “steady as she goes” approach.

“However, investing only in Australian equities will no longer give investors the returns they need. Those investors with a truly diversified portfolio, both within asset classes and by geographic region, will be the ones who will benefit from positive market movements around the globe.”

Source: Australian Unity

When you look at the financial advice landscape from a consumer’s perspective today, there are four types of advice and service they seek:
1.     Tax advice
2.     Accounting advice
3.     Financial planning advice
4.     Finance/mortgages/debt advice

Today many clients receive each of these services from different providers, or in some instances two or three services from the same provider. However, considering the ongoing changes within the advice industry, it’s very clear that further convergence of the advice model is inevitable.

So what is advice model convergence and why is it inevitable?

Advice model convergence is quite literally the amalgamation of all of the above advice services by the one service provider or practice. Some might say that sounds like the one-stop-shop model that was unsuccessfully argued 10 years ago. But let’s look at today’s drivers for this convergence.

1. Regulation
We are all aware that accountants are currently undergoing a transition to be licensed in order to continue to provide advice on self-managed super funds. Financial advisers are also now coming under the regulation and requirements of the Tax Practitioners Board; and the finance broking community similarly went through significant regulatory change back in 2009 with the introduction of the National Consumer Credit Protection Act (2009). All of this increased regulation is forcing standards for advice delivery to converge across these three advice disciplines.

2. Margin Pressure
As a result of the Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) laws, there is clear evidence within the financial planning industry that generating revenue in the future will be harder than it was in the past. Accounting practices have, for a number of years, been looking for solutions to implement recurring fees, as opposed to hourly rates, to improve business value and profitability. Many of these accounting practices have already acquired financial planning businesses to assist with this objective.

3. Competition
There is increasing competition in each of the four advice delivery segments as a result of new entrants (including industry super funds, technology-enabled marketing and/or offshoring). Additionally, technology is enabling providers to service clients without the need to be physically present. It’s interesting to note the major banks only entered the financial planning market space about 15 years ago and, prior to that, the opportunity to attract new clients was greater. Industry funds also did not have a solution for when their members left a sponsoring employer.

4. Technology
It’s clear for those who are willing to adopt technology faster that they will be able to provide better services at a lower cost to a greater number of clients. It’s also clear that technology will in fact enable the delivery of all four advice services more efficiently and seamlessly from the one advice practice.

5. Consumers
Lastly, and most importantly, the most likely driver for advice model convergence is the consumer – the client. Despite all of the above, clients are still likely to be time poor and none of the above improves their world when it comes to time management. In an environment where time is a precious asset, and clients value it highly, it is very likely that they will happily take, if not actively seek to obtain, all their financial advice from the one advice provider. The alternative – visiting two or three different professionals to get financial advice – will be very unappealing and require coordination due to advice overlap.

In our view the evidence is overwhelming. Advice model convergence is underway and your ability to adapt, use technology and outsource, while remaining the front office for clients, will not only impact your business results but also ensure sustainability well into the future.

Speaking at the Pharos annual conference in Canberra last week, Madison general manager Giulio Russo (pictured) said an extensive and unwieldy APL is not serving clients’ best interests and exposes the licensee to unacceptable risks.

“We’ve got 600 products on our approved list,” Russo said.

“Three hundred of them are closed, which we can’t do a lot about and you’ve got a lot of clients in, and obviously we don’t want to get them out of there because of capital gains tax issues.

“The other 300 products out there are a risk to us. There are 25 sub-sector asset classes that you can potentially put your clients into. What you really should have is three or four best-of-breed products with the top fund managers in each of those subsectors. That’s all you need.”

Russo said Madison will use Morningstar analysis to “filter through all those products that are on [the APL] and really ask the hard question: ‘Is this the best range of products that you can give to your clients?’”.

“We’re also going to be more diligent around any product manufacturers going to you directly about adding a product,” he said.

“Our mantra has been: if you put a product forward we’ll have a look at it; if it suits your client base and meets some of the risk profiles, we’ll put it on. The criteria from now on will be, once we come up with our [list of] 100 products – whatever that might look like – and there’s a new product you want to add to the list, what is it going to replace? Why? Is this better than the one we’ve already got?

“We can’t put ourselves at risk with so many different products out there. We’ve got to make some decisions. And it will be in the best interests of clients. The best thing you can do for your client is give them a choice of best-of-breed products, not open them up to 200, 300, 400 product choices.”

Modest adviser growth targets

Russo said Madison has modest targets for growth in adviser numbers in the coming year, but will be ruthless about the type of adviser it takes on. He said the group is not interested in attracting new advisers whose value proposition is essentially a DIY investment service.

“They are not part of our business model,” he said.

“They are high risk to us, a huge compliance risk to us. They are traditionally not profitable, because we’re spending more time with them sorting out problems as opposed to them being efficient, and we need to put our resources into those advisers and practices that are on the journey with us.

“We’re going to be even more selective about the type of adviser and practice that joins our business. We can’t afford to have business models that are going to be broken…and I think the DIY adviser practice [model] is broken – unless you want to be a stockbroker.”

Russo said Madison will target advisers who want to be “active and engaged with us”.

“They want to seek our help and use our resources and definitely want to partner with us,” he said.

“They want business coaching, so that covers a whole range of things around how they attract clients, how they run their business, how they deal with staff – all those sorts of metrics. We want strategic planners, so they are planners who are not interested in making their own investment portfolios – that’s a dangerous position to be in.”

Russo said some current Madison practices are successfully focused on creating their own investment solutions for clients, and can continue to do that.

“But for new advisers coming on board, we want strategic planners: those who are going to spend time with their clients, adding value to their financial objectives and goals, as opposed to being a portfolio manager,” he said.

“And again, the type of adviser we want uses the Madison investment solutions and adopts the Madison way.

“We will transform our business so that this time next year we will have hopefully 20 new advisers on board who look like this, and they can share their experiences with you.

“So what’s under review to help us get through this journey? We are reviewing the investment committee: do we have the right inputs; have we got the right people there; have we got the right research houses to help us through making decisions; how are we going to be more decisive in our actions? I think sometimes we’ve been a little bit slow or inactive. How can we improve communication [and be] more effective so you can translate what we’ve come up with to your clients really quickly?”

Mark Woolnough, Head of Third Party Distribution at ING DIRECT said Mr Hewson’s appointment was a logical step for the bank as the line between these two increasingly aligned industries continues to blur:

“When a consumer builds trust in their wealth professional, be it a broker or adviser, they tend to look for broader support across a range of financial matters.  They want a ‘one stop shop’ where their trusted adviser can support them through their financial lifecycle, from home loans to superannuation.

“Many brokers and advisers recognise this and are increasingly working together, through either commercial agreements or referrals, to provide this level of service to their customers.  Just as it is simpler for the consumer to have all their needs met in one place, this same principle also applies to brokers and advisers.  With Tim’s appointment we are effectively mirroring what is happening in the industry, ensuring we can provide the best level of service to our professional partners.”

Mr Hewson’s financial services career spans more than 20 years and for the past six months he has been focused on working with advisers and brokers to further develop the bank’s product and service proposition across both lending and wealth.  Mr Hewson previously held the position of Manager, Superannuation, where he was responsible for growing ING DIRECT’s award-winning superannuation product, Living Super, and launching both the Living Super administrative platform to advisers in mid-2015.

Mr Hewson commented: “We see this convergence as a growing trend and it absolutely makes sense for us to be on the front-foot, providing holistic support for our broker and adviser partners.

“Our great proposition in the mortgage industry has seen us become the country’s sixth largest home loan lender.  We also have a very successful broker referral program which support brokers in engaging with their clients on other areas of finance such as everyday banking and superannuation.  While we are a relatively young player in the wealth space we are getting great traction from both national dealer groups and boutique planning firms.”

SOURCE: ING DIRECT

Ms Phillips, who has been acting in the role since June, has already achieved a number of significant milestones including the development and launch of AIA Australia’s eclaims and rehabilitation programs. Indeed, earlier this year, AIA Australia won Super Review magazine’s ‘Group Insurer of the Year’ award for the second year running.

Stephanie joined AIA Australia in November 2009 and has worked in a number of roles within the Group Insurance division over this period. These included three years in the Corporate Solutions team in Hong Kong in addition to a number of consulting roles in Hong Kong and Australia, before returning to Australia permanently in 2014 as Head of Group Operations and then Head of Group Distribution.

Before joining AIA Australia, Ms Phillips held various roles at HESTA, Superpartners and One Path (formerly ING).

AIA Australia Chief Executive Officer Damien Mu was pleased to announce the promotion in recognition of Ms Phillips’ contribution to the business over the years. “Steph has been an asset to the company and has already achieved some significant milestones in her role as acting Chief Group Insurance Officer.

“Importantly, she provides the team, our clients and our partners with not only the experience required to deliver on the strategic goals of the business, but also good stability and continuity as she has already been acting in the role over the past three months,” he said.

Ms Phillips is also a member of the AIA Australia Executive Committee and will report directly to AIA Australia Chief Executive Officer Damien Mu.

Source: AIA Australia

ASIC’s letter informs the Sherwin Group clients that:

ASIC has commenced an investigation into the operation of the Money Market Accounts held by Sherwin Group clients, which relates to whether BOQ or DDH Graham may have processed transactions when they should not have.
There are steps they may wish to take as soon as possible if they have suffered financial loss and may have a claim for compensation.
If they do have a claim time limitations will apply to that claim, and they may need to take prompt steps to ensure any claim is brought in time.
ASIC’s investigation in relation to the BOQ and DDH Graham is ongoing.

ASIC is aware that some former Sherwin clients have formed a group to provide support and share information between investors known asthe Superannuation Crisis Support Group (SCSG). The SCSG can be contacted via scsgroup300@gmail.com.

ASIC has no connection with and does not endorse any supporter group.

Background
For more information refer to ASIC’s key matters page.

Source: ASIC

So it makes intuitive sense that quality financial advice services would help to underpin the way funds go about enhancing member outcomes.

Does financial advice add value in this way?

READ FULL REPORT

Source: Rice Warner

The third report shows that as at 31 August 2015, more than 23,000 customers had expressed interest in the program and over 8,000 customers had confirmed they would like their advice assessed. This followed an extensive awareness campaign and mail-out to around 350,000 households, and engagement with community groups. New expressions of interest for the Open Advice Review program closed on 3 July 2015.

The report also outlines Promontory’s review of sample cases, noting the Bank’s ongoing initiatives to continue applying the program’s case assessment processes in a fair and consistent manner. At 31 August 2015, 686 assessments were issued to customers, increasing to over 1,000 assessments by 30 September 2015.

The independent report from Promontory confirms that the program’s ongoing refinement of systems and processes, and recruitment of highly qualified people, have considerably increased its delivery of assessment outcomes for customers.

The program’s purpose is to ensure customers who received poor advice are put back in the position they would have been had they received appropriate advice, and to give reassurance to other customers that the advice they received was appropriate.

Promontory was appointed as the Independent Expert for the Open Advice Review program and as such will review the program’s processes and provide periodic updates on its outcomes. The next report by Promontory is expected to be released in January 2016.

Promontory Financial Group’s third report can be viewed on Commonwealth Bank’s website.

Source: CBA

Annual distributions were boosted through the merger and subsequent integration of the ANZ Trustees business (now ETWSL) during the year.

Ms Tabitha Lovett, Equity Trustees General Manager of Philanthropy, said synergy from the integration was timely, broadening the base of Equity Trustees’ philanthropy business and further adding depth of knowledge.

“This has allowed us to provide additional client support at a time of expanding need as granting distributions from trusts has evolved significantly in recent years,” Ms Lovett said.

“Clients and their advisers are increasingly informed and thoughtful about what they expect to achieve when they set up philanthropic trusts, which in turn is encouraging more flexibility in the way distributions are made.

“At the same time, while interest in philanthropy is expanding, grant recipients’ needs are also changing.”

Ms Lovett said that as a result of these two trends, Equity Trustees and other philanthropic trust managers are taking a multiyear view on their work, rather than making annual, ‘one off’, distributions.

“Understandably, we are also seeing more grant and donation requests from the charity and not-for-profit sector looking for alternative funding where government cutbacks have resulted in reduced funding.

“The area of health and medical research reflects both of these trends.  In the last financial year 44% of the total distribution ($31 million) made by charitable trusts managed by Equity Trusts went to hospitals and medical research, and much of this was by way of an annual grant as part of an ongoing program.

“Researchers need to have confidence that funds will be available, not just for one year but for the anticipated life of a research project.

“Where the terms of the foundation allow, and after due diligence and risk assessment, we endeavour to provide this longer term support.”

Ms Lovett said another approach that has evolved in recent years is for charitable foundations to provide seed grants or no-interest loans to enable an organisation to set up a community social enterprise program that will become self-funding.

“This approach also involves another innovation; working with other philanthropic and government organisations to provide sufficient capital and manage risk for such programs.

“One successful example is the Women’s Property Initiative to provide low cost housing for women and children. Equity Trustees and a number of the trusts it manages with co-trustees collaborated with the Victorian Women’s Housing Association to establish the initiative.

“The program now receives a mix of funding and other support from a number of organisations, including grants from other foundations and government bodies to provide affordable housing for women in need.”

Ms Lovett said the category that received the largest distribution from the charitable trusts managed by Equity Trustees at over $31 million, was health and medical research.

Community welfare projects were the second largest at $16.6 million and education grants at $10.5 million followed, with the area of aging increasing to over $1.2 million.

Source: Equity Trustees

ASK Crowe Horwath, an obligation-free, online financial problem solving service for business and individuals, allows questions to be posed by the general public and answered by Crowe Horwath advisers.

There are no boundaries to the questions that can be asked, with professionals covering the full spectrum of financial services.

Thomas Paule, Chief Marketing & Digital Officer, Findex says the primary aim of the portal is to provide an easy point of access to professional and expert opinion.

“Crowe Horwath clients have a trusted adviser at the centre of their relationship with the firm who ensures they receive timely and strategic advice over a wide range of issues.

“We want others to be able to experience this first hand. We are giving them a taste of our knowledge, skills, style and level of care, without any obligations or charge.

“At the foundation of this approach is technology.

“Essentially, we are harnessing technology to build and enhance relationships with the market and prospective clients.”

The service is structured so an enquiry will be replied to online in writing, generally, within 24 hours.

“It’s also an opportunity for users to get a second opinion, something that may be daunting and difficult for many in this sector,” Mr Paule said.

Findex has partnered with FinTech start-up FinancialAsk to provide ASK Crowe Horwath.

As part of the recent FinTech boom, there has been increasing local interest in innovative start-up companies.

With FinTech investment reaching over AUD$270 billion worldwide, the area is experiencing enormous interest and growth.

“We are committed to FinTech – it is in Findex’s DNA to harness technology to provide better and timelier service for clients.

“We have been most impressed by the FinancialAsk team and we hope today’s launch of ASK Crowe Horwath is the first step in a very productive journey with them that will bring value to our clients and our business.

“We see this alliance as one of incubation, knowledge transfer both ways, and the ability to explore commercial opportunities on an exclusive basis,” Mr Paule said.

FinancialAsk is headed up by founder and FinTech expert Andrew Lai.

“We are delighted to work on an exclusive basis with Findex. As an ambitious start-up we could not wish for a better partner to bring our first project to market under the Findex and Crowe Horwath brands.

“Findex’s massive network of business and private clients gives the product excellent prospects for success. We have great admiration for the Findex business and their culture of innovation and technology,” added Mr Lai.

Source: Findex 

“We are delighted that AMP has added MVW and MVB to its APL. Our ETFs offer investors a point of difference and are gaining strong traction among financial advisers and SMSFs.  For example, MVW, which currently equally weights 71 Australian securities avoids stock concentration in the Australian market,” said Matthew McKinnon, Director of Institutions and Intermediaries, Van Eck Australia.

“There has been increasing demand from financial advisers for our ETFs. In particular, MVW has attracted advisers seeking greater diversification and long-term outperformance compared to traditional market capitalisation indices such as the S&P/ASX 200 Accumulation Index. Since its launch on 4 March 2014, MVW outperformed the S&P/ASX 200 Accumulation Index by 3.97% per annum (at 31 August 2015), returning 5.85% per annum,” Mr McKinnon said.

“Similarly, MVB provides investors with something they haven’t had before – a portfolio that invests only in Australian banks.  MVB does not have other financials such as insurers.  MVB delivers the growth and yield of Australia’s seven largest banks, with the holdings capped at 20% so one stock does not dominate. MVB is being used by investors seeking exposure to Australian banks in a simple, cheap and single-trade structure that removes the administration burden of corporate actions.

“ETFs can be used to gain targeted exposure for clients’ portfolios at a lower cost than actively managed funds and with added benefits of transparency, intraday trading and liquidity.  These traits are what make ETFs so appealing,” said Mr McKinnon.

“While there are other Market Vectors ETFs on the North Platform, MVW and MVB are the first Market Vectors ETFs to be approved for AMP’s APL. The North Platform is a leading platform among financial advisers. It has outstanding accessibility, decision support, product and transaction tools and good reporting, making it an attractive platform for ETF providers,” concluded Mr McKinnon.

Source: Market Vectors

Like me, you were probably amused but not surprised by the sheer volume of people and the number of (mostly American) public figures who had decided that finding a sneaky significant other was something that they would trust to the internet.

What the hack proved was something that we all know: relationships, especially long-term relationships, are hard; they require work; and they require a kind of constant improvement that is hard to master.

The big relationship in Australian financial services – the marriage if you like – is between financial planners and their licensee, and the health of those relationships is a critical indicator of the health of the industry and the health of the businesses in it.

Here’s the thing with economists and relationships: As soon as we see a relationship which creates value, we try to measure it. We try to measure it for a few reasons. One of the reasons is that economics and research long to be real sciences, which are empirical and logical and mechanistic, and all the inputs can be measured in outputs. (They can’t by the way – and anyone who tells you different about economics or research is trying to sell you something.)

But it is a useful way of grouping things, people and businesses. In a bid to make this sound important, researchers and economists tend to call these groups “cohorts” – which is just a fancy way of saying “a group with shared characteristics”.

There can be only four

In any case, the behavioural research shows that when you are looking at relationships you end up with four broad groups: Those that hate you; those that have a transactional relationship with you; those that have a preference for you; and those that are loyal.

That’s it. Those are the only groups. If you are a licensee, then everyone who is part of your licence falls into one of those groups, and at CoreData we’ve been measuring those groups for the past 13 years.

Let me explain the groups briefly:

• Those that hate you are leaving you. They are now looking for the way out.
• Those that are transactional are only there for the transaction. If a better offer comes along, they will leave, because they only measure the relationship in what they can get out of it. And they think you are doing the same.
• Partners that have a preference for you are likely to think that you are pretty good at what you do and somewhat interested in their happiness.
• The loyal have bought into your vision, what you are trying to do and think that you are very interested in their happiness and success.

It’s that simple.

The big mistake that most licensees make is that they think that the advisers who are with them that have transactional relationships have at least a preference for them, or are loyal. They aren’t; they are simply with their licensee until a better offer comes along.

And the bad news for the licensee industry is that the number of businesses in the transactional relationship group is up year-on-year.

Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge

For the big licensees, particularly the bank-aligned ones, more than a quarter of the advisers state that they would like to leave them within the next 12 months. Those are the ones that hate their license.

The news gets worse as you push the time frame out, with a further 40 per cent of the advisers stating that they would like to leave within the next five years, those are the ones that are in a transactional relationship. (Click on the charts to enlarge them.)

Obviously not all of the brands are equal. CBA has the most loyal and happiest advisers, frankly outperforming a decent number of the smaller, supposedly more intimate licensees.

Think about that for a second. CBA, the beleaguered giant, has a loyal and predisposed adviser base. Imagine what they could do once they start to unleash that machine. Imagine the power they have to transform the industry.

But for most of the big licensees and some of the small ones these findings reflect a broader picture among advisers in bank-aligned licensees in that they tend to be less satisfied, be less likely to recommend their licensee and be more likely to switch to a new licensee.

The hidden driver of change

Every year when we do the research we pick up subtle shifts in the satisfaction drivers of the advisers – clues to what is really at work on their concerns for their business. This year the shift wasn’t subtle at all.

A technique almost every decent researcher employs is to design a survey to look beyond “stated preference” for real preference. For example a stated preference is something which is a politically correct or an acceptable preference – like saying you bought the top-of-the-class Mercedes Benz because it has high re-sale value or has great safety. Maybe you did. But maybe you bought it because it’s great deal of fun to drive and lets everyone know that you’ve got a lot of money.

Click to enlarge

So in this year’s survey we were looking at what would drive advisers to change practice and expected to yet again find that product independence and remuneration were fighting for number one and two slots. The surprise is that that they weren’t. Now, the biggest driver of change is technical expertise, then product independence, then remuneration.

In the past, getting an adviser to move was simple: pay more. Dangle a cheque and better income, and they would move.

In a change – which is frankly nothing short of admirable – that doesn’t really work any more. If you want to get an adviser to switch now, how much you pay them is only the third-most important thing. Turns out it’s now the advisers leading the licensees in terms of real change, which means the economic drivers in the industry have changed.

It seems a chequebook is no longer going to be enough to get the good advisers. You are going to have to be technically strong, have a flexible and open APL, and pay well.

OneVue launched Luminous on Monday, a platform offering it’s group chief executive officer Connie Mckeage says marks a departure from the established design methodology behind investment platforms.

“We’re not going to spend $500-600 million on something, but we need to get it right for today, and not spend a lot of time trying to preserve the status quo.

“For 18 moths, we’ve gone down another path…you can’t outspend the opposition, but you can outsmart them, and we take that seriously,” Mckeage says.

For the consumer and adviser

Luminous is something of a hybrid between a traditional platform, which is adviser-led, and a consumer-focused tool – taking the best elements of both to create something new.

Mckeage believes that, in the case of building a new platform, incremental change was not enough, instead requiring OneVue to stop and reset completely.

“If you think that every [client] is starting with an adviser today, it’s a flawed model. Not many people, until they do their transition to retirement planning, are using a planner for everything,” Mckeage says.

The process hasn’t been an easy one, and OneVue has faced its fair share of pushback from advisers in the last year-and-a-half. “It’s very difficult when people say, ‘you’ve given up on the adviser market’. No we haven’t, we just think the operating model is broken.”

“We need a whole new operating model, and we believe in that so much that we’re willing to put up with the market saying that we’ve abandoned that market,” she says.

Building technology solutions that can be white-labeled by financial planning Australian Financial Services (AFS) licensees is OneVue’s core business model. As such, it naturally appeals predominantly to the non-aligned segment of the planning market.

Madison Financial Planning and Yellow Brick Road are two groups that are long-term OneVue clients – the latter using it within its GURU process.

“When you come at it as an independent…it’s tough, but we’re more committed than ever to changing the market. And the support that we’ve had for this has surpassed our expectations,” Mckeage says.

Somewhat surprisingly, during the earlier stages of rolling the product out to market, a number of institutionally owned AFS licensees had also engaged with OneVue’s Luminous platform.

“We started to get a lot of support [from institutionally-aligned licensees] and it was shut down. We’ve had bank-owned groups start to support us, but it was actually stopped, because the license was held by the institution.

“As word of mouth got along, we were told there would be no more cooperation [with OneVue], or they would have to change their licensee,” Mckeage says.

The consumer will win eventually

“In the end, it’s just a matter of time before consumers win. A lot of people have tried to stop the inevitable, or try and hang onto the status quo…but people grossly underestimate the consumer,” she says.

Luminous has two separate interfaces – one for consumers, and another for advisers. The consumer-led approach was designed first, with the adviser portal created around this – instead of the more orthodox approach of building for the adviser first and the consumer second.

“If we get it right for the consumer, the adviser part is just the consolidation of that. So what does an adviser need that an investor doesn’t? Not that much,” Mckeage says.

She believes the primary difference is that advisers need to be able to operate in aggregate, instead of individually.

“I can buy shares [as an individual]…but if [I’m working] as an adviser, I want to buy shares on behalf of a number of clients.

“An individual will want reporting, but an adviser will want reporting across their whole client base. All an adviser does on top if it is aggregate the information,” Mckeage says.

This also creates the opportunity for greater empowerment on the part of the client: “If I’ve got a really good relationship [with the adviser]…I can actually say ‘can you give me access to what you do’.”

The speakers include the founder of Australia’s only motorcycle business; someone inspired by the Terminator movies to use robotics for the benefit of amputees; a magician and entrepreneur of the year; and a well-known television personality.

The FPA announced last week it planned to restructure two of its three traditional congress keynote sessions to reflect the successful TED Talk events and to bring a greater diversity of views and opinions to the sessions.

Chair of the FPA Congress, Delma Newton, says the aim of the restructured sessions is to “give more variety of speakers for planners to hear from”.

“It’s giving them access to a greater number of ideas from a more diverse array of professionals, and a much more interesting mix of speakers, so they can take ideas from a heap of other professions away and see how other people are innovating and being highly professional at their game,” she says.

A common theme

Newton says the congress committee has sought to put together speakers who share a common ideology, or who can speak to a common theme.

“We have tried very hard to group these speakers that we have so there is a continuity in the message,” Newton says.

“It says to planners that they don’t just have to look inside the bubble of the planning profession to get really good ideas.”

The first session will focus on innovation and features a range of presenters “who haven’t come from a fantastic background, and didn’t have a leg-up to start with”, Newton says.

“They made the most of their situation through innovation,” she says.

The second group will focus on creativity and “how you can look outside the box to create better opportunities”.

The keynote speakers announced by the FPA today are:

• Li Cunxin, an internationally acclaimed dancer and author of the best-selling Mao’s Last Dancer;
• Nigel Marsh, bestselling author, co-founder of Earth Hour and a TED speaker par excellence;
• Munjed Al Muderis, a world leader in osseointegration – combining robotics with humans – a life-changing technology for amputees inspired by The Terminator
• Brad Smith, a young entrepreneur who built Australia’s only motorcycle company from nothing
• Carolyn Miller, managing director of The Honeycomb Effect and a regular panelist on ABC TV series “Gruen”; and
• Vinh Giang, the 2013 South Australian Entrepreneur of the Year, magician and professional speaker.

Award-winning broadcaster

The FPA has already announced that award-winning journalist and broadcaster Jennifer Byrne and social researcher and thought leader Mark McCrindle will speak at the Congress.

Byrne will address the Women in Financial Planning Breakfast on the morning of day two of the congress. The event is open to both men and women.

In addition, new workshop streams tagged “expand”, “grow”, “engage” and “inspire” offer 24 sessions covering diverse areas from technology, through to client communication and people management.

The FPA says the workshop program has been “built by planners, for planners”.

Each workshop topic had been road-tested and selected based on the needs of financial planners, to ensure they are equipped to operate in the ever changing professional environment.

Delegates have been urged to select the workshops they wish to attend at the time they register to avoid missing out on limited spaces.

The 2015 Congress is accredited for 14.5 CPD hours. Professional Planner is the major media partner to the event.

The initiative was announced earlier this year at the FPA National Roadshow that focused on current regulatory reform and retirement income.

Mark Rantall, CEO of the FPA, said the scholarships were one of many initiatives the FPA had undertaken to support FPA members in furthering their education.

“We represent a community of professionals that is passionate about improving the lives of their clients, through professional financial advice.

“We believe that education and continual learning plays a central role in raising standards in financial planning and achieving the best possible client outcomes. We are committed to supporting members in all areas, whether it be through comprehensive study support for the CFP® certification program, or through our annual program of continued professional development.

“Our recently concluded Financial Planning Week revealed retirement and superannuation were at the top of Australians’ primary financial concerns. Unsurprisingly, people aged 55+ were the most engaged during the week, but it was encouraging to see that the appetite for financial advice spans across different demographic groups, including young people.

“As the Australian population continues to age, it is important that financial planners are equipped to provide the best possible retirement advice.”

Paul Rogan, Challenger Chief Executive, Distribution Marketing and Research said “This course is purpose-built and the first of its kind for advisers seeking to better serve the needs of Australia’s fast-growing retirement segment.”

“Retirement advice is increasingly being seen as an area of growth and opportunity requiring specialist advice skills, so continuing professional development for retirement specialists has never been more valuable.

“This trend to retirement advice will continue to be propelled by the uptick in Australians living longer and our ageing population,” Rogan said.

The five scholarship recipients are:

– Anthony White CFP® – KeyPlay Financial Services
– Philip Hall CFP® – MyState Wealth Management
– Mitchell Gallina CFP® – BW Financial Advice
– Jane Campbell CFP® – Aeran
– Sharni Tucker CFP® – Life Strategies Financial Services

Recipients will be offered to study the course face-to-face in Sydney, or via distance learning.

Source: FPA Australia

SMSFs allocated around one third of all their assets, at $187.1 billion, to Australian shares in the June 2015 quarter, down from $199.3 billion during the March quarter, according to recent data from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). SMSFs poured a record amount into cash and term deposits, with holdings rising to $157.7 billion, up from $155.7 billion.

SMSFs’ Australian property investments, including residential and non-residential property, rose to a fresh high of $87.9 billion, up from $86.9 billion. Their total net assets fell to $571.8 billion in the June quarter from $582.4 billion in the March quarter.

Paul Resnik, co-founder of FinaMetrica, said the SMSF asset numbers highlight a risky allocation, dominated by growth assets such as local property and shares, allocations potentially out of line with the risk tolerance of most SMSF trustees.

“SMSFs need to ensure they achieve greater asset diversity with their portfolios and a greater awareness of their ability to tolerate investment risk. While one third of SMSFs are invested in Australian shares, SMSFs invested just $1.8 billion in international shares in the June 2015 quarter. While this figure may underrepresent the true amount, SMSFs’ offshore investments are still minor compared to their home investments,” Mr Resnik said.

“SMSFs would be prudent to consider how they can diminish their Australian equities risk and rebalance their portfolios to incorporate greater offshore diversification and an overall lesser exposure to equities. If the Australian dollar continues to fall, investors could see even greater gains from holding unhedged offshore investments, whether bonds, shares or alternative assets.

“Moreover, SMSFs are still piling money into cash investments despite historically low returns. This is a temptation that needs to be resisted for all investors as share markets fall. Over the long term, cash does not protect against the ravaging effects of inflation and build wealth. Even the big superanuation funds are piling into cash, with recent ABS Managaed Funds June quarter data revealing Australian pension funds boosted their cash deposits to $266.6 billion in the June 2015 quarter, up from $260.3 billion a year earlier.”

Mr Resnik said many SMSFs look to be in need of good investment advice. “By better understanding how financial markets work, and the impact of asset allocation on portfolio behaviour, SMSFs can better prepare for market downturns when they happen.

“FinaMetrica provides an online risk tolerance test which enables financial advisors to measure the financial risk tolerance of their clients and better match investments to their needs. The cost of our risk tolerance test has been deeply discounted to $5 from $55 for Australian consumers until 31 October 2015 as FinaMetrica is committed to helping consumers make better financial decisions during these challenging market conditions,” Mr Resnik said.

“The 25-question test takes just 10 to 15 minutes to complete. SMSF investors will then immediately be able to see their risk profile report, which is intended to help them be better understand themselves and the investments that suit their risk appetite. Click here to take your test.

“Don’t delay because whether you invest for yourself or you’re in a couple, it’s important to understand your appetite for risk and how different you are from your partner. For couples with a SMSF, the investment needs and risk appetites of both partners need to be separately assessed by advisors before a suitable financial plan for the couple can be finalised.

“It’s also not unusual, for example, for females in couples to be several years younger than their male partners. This presents a significant challenge about how to communicate and advise a couple when the female not only has a lower tolerance for risk but she needs her investments to last longer. Financial advisors can’t ignore this,” Mr Resnik said.

FinaMetrica’s well-regarded Risk and Return Guide can be used to help educate investors about market returns and volatility. The Guide presents a comprehensive analysis of historical portfolio performance across the risk/return spectrum that is meaningful to clients in the context of their risk tolerance.

Source: Finametrica

Ironically, a lot of buyers seeking an advice practice are 40 – 50 years old and they need to ‘buy a job’ said Tynan.  “They have been downsized or don’t like the new institutional world, have been transferred out of an area or have decided they want to be their own boss in charge of their future professional /career destiny”.

The buyers Tynan is currently working with fall into the following categories:

•  Companies making strategic acquisitions
•  Financial planning businesses looking to diversify
•  Individual buyers (including salaried advisers) leaving corporate careers
•  Individuals looking to transition into self employment

As a result of this undersupply, buyers are becoming frustrated and this in the past has led to the wrong purchase being made added Tynan.  “The history of the Australian financial service industry is quite literally littered with terrible acquisitions and mergers”.

The need for good advice has never been more important as information is quite literally spun around the world in seconds.  In addition, international trade barriers are evaporating as we speak and outsourcing is the norm of businesses not just ‘best practice’.

In this environment, succession planning is not going to get easier added Tynan.  ‘A seller will never get the perfect business environment to execute their retirement and exit plans.  In fact, if you are waiting for the economy to move into growth mode; or for the government to pass the FoFA legislation – forget it!”

Tynan says if practice owners are basing their retirement plans on markets and politicians to ‘come good’ – that this is no way to plan for retirement and under these circumstances, they will never retire.

However there is a further consequence and a developing trend and that is retirement plans being taken out of the hands of many individuals due to deteriorating personal health, death, bankruptcy, divorce, legislation and general business conditions/environment.

Tynan concluded, “Prospective buyers of practices need to be patient and not be ‘spooked’ into making inappropriate acquisitions that have the potential to be long term catastrophic financial decisions”.

“Equally sellers must plan their own exit which is a balance between business, health, finance and lifestyle to suit their individual circumstances and then take into account current market conditions and review their valuation expectations accordingly.

“Ultimately, for both buyers and sellers the only constant is change – and growing older!”

She will succeed Melda Donnelly, whose term ended in August, as the third independent on the board, bringing with her a skill set in retirement income products.

In total the UniSuper board has 11 directors, including Chris Cuffe and Ian Martin as independents.

Cuffe, chair of the $50 billion fund, said that it was not so much about being independent or otherwise, rather it was about having people on the board with the right mix of skills, talent and experience to deliver the right outcomes for members.

“Ian Martin and I, as independent directors on the UniSuper Board, already bring extensive investment management experience,” Cuffe said.

“The area we were really looking to deepen through this appointment was expertise in retirement income products.  Nicolette has an incredibly strong background in this area and, along with the insights she brings from a retail background, she fits the bill perfectly.”

Rubinsztein has previously held senior positions at Colonial First State, BT Funds Management. She has also been a director of the Association of Superannuation Funds Australia Board for the past eight years. She is also a qualified actuary, holds a Master of Business Administration from the Australian Graduate School of Management and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

She said: “UniSuper has an enviable reputation within the industry not only as a superannuation fund, but for its in-house funds management, administration and financial advice services.”

She will continue to work at the CBA for the next two months.