Financial Advisers are disrupting the industry through technology

There are no two ways about it. The financial advice industry is undergoing a massive period of transformation, disruption, and change. Largely in part to the Royal Commission findings, but also because progressive advisers see the potential in questioning the way it’s ‘always been done’.

Dealer groups and Corporate Advisory practices are devising new ways to take control of the financial future of their business (especially since remuneration payments from super funds have stopped), and how services are delivered.

There is a growing movement Advisers are challenging the traditional advice models that rely on commission-based structures for revenue. Looking at their customer profiles and niching to deliver better experiences for one particular audience. Exploring; How can they add greater value to their practice (and revenue) by using technology to enable a better, more streamlined experience and solve admin headaches for them (and their clients)? Balancing the need to reduce commercial and compliance risk.

Possibilities we see There has been a rise in the number of advice groups coming to us to explore how to better support their corporate superannuation plans. Ditching legacy systems and building their own technology solutions for employers and members.

As a result of greater independence, Advisers can deliver a better experience for their employer and employee customers.

The problem advisers want to solve Frustrated at the delay in getting member details, which put them at risk of not meeting their duty of care, Financial Advisers have been thinking beyond the realms of traditional employee advice. How can they help their corporate superannuation plans solve three of their biggest business problems?

On-boarding employees – how to help employers with onboarding support and provide value early in the relationship?
Member data and administration – how to automate and validate admin at source?
Getting to know their customers – how to access employee/member information sooner?

Trailblazers

The Financial Wellness Group (TFWG) is an advice practice leading the way with their fresh approach and non-traditional advice model. When we first met Chris and Nick, the Financial Wellness Group was in the process of re-defining their whole business model. Picking apart the way they did things and focusing on the way forward. They have chosen to support employers to deliver employee benefits, with a focus on Financial Wellness. Technology as the enabler TFWG sought help to solve an industry-wide problem.

How might we help support advisers serve Corporate clients with group superannuation in a way that’s helpful and valuable?

TFWG explored building their own solution from the ground up, but the most economical and scalable option was to tightly integrate their onboarding software with third-party clearinghouse solutions, like SuperChoice. TFWG have integrated/launched their own On-boarding solution with the SuperChoice Employer Super portal. A solution to eliminate the friction and pain points employers face when managing their Corporate Super and employee benefit plans. According to Nick Backhaus, employers/advisers save significant time in re-work and account management because we automatically standardise and validate data as we go.

Errors are dealt with on the spot, guided by useful, actionable messages.
Knowing more about their customers means financial advisers can meet their regulatory obligations, save on admin time, and feel confident they are managing their super customers to the best interests of their clients.
Protection from the scrutiny and potential reputation loss that not having access to this information can open them up to.

Here for the long-term – the future of advice

Practices who take-action and have a longer-term view of the way their business runs are setting themselves up for a brighter future.

Customer experience focused
Solving real problems
Using tech as an enabler
Exploring third party solutions for the benefit of scale

If you want to learn more about The Financial Wellness Group visit their website.

How the SuperChoice solution worked

SuperChoice’s cloud-based solution was the perfect option for the Financial Wellness Group.

We could complement their offer and support financial advisers using;

Sophisticated, secure API’s
Automation capabilities
Smarter, seamless data validation features

Because of the way our platform is built, we’re able to take any file or format and map it to meet the regulatory requirements and give advisers access to the information they need. Standardising the data. With our dedicated support team on hand, we could quickly adapt and manage individual client transition needs as they came up with little to no involvement on the client-side.

Want to explore SuperChoice solutions for your practice?

Contact sales@superchoice.com.au or call 1300 659 456.