At ASFA’s 2024 Annual Conference, our own Michelle Lusty along with Edwina Maloney (AMP), Evan Poole (ART) and Adam Webb (Count) explored how funds can leverage technology to deliver tailored, affordable, and impactful advice that would meet members’ needs at every stage of their financial journey. Here are the key highlights:
- NOW is the new era for advice
With a third of Australians believing they won’t have a large enough nest egg to live an adequate retirement and demonstrated outcomes of better financial outcomes when members receive advice, super funds need to step up to the challenge.
The Retirement Income Covenant and the government’s “Delivering Better Financial Outcomes“ initiative have set the stage for a transformation in financial advice delivery for super funds. Just this week, Financial Services Minister Stephen Jones provided further details around the new class of adviser and outlined what advice topics can be paid for through superannuation and the news that super funds will be allowed to provide helpful “nudges” to drive greater member engagement at key life stages.
For super funds, this highlights the urgency of delivering better advice solutions—affordable, accessible, and tailored to individual circumstances.
Michelle Lusty noted that despite potential delays in the DDO Tranche 2 legislation, numerous superannuation funds engaging with Bravura are proceeding with the execution of their advice strategies. This is essential as they still need to fulfill their Retirement Income Covenant (RIC) obligations. By taking this proactive approach, both the funds and their members stand to gain significant, tangible benefits.
- Members who receive financial advice are 7x more likely to make contributions
The complexity of Australia’s retirement system has long been a barrier to engagement. The panelists emphasised that making advice simple and accessible is critical to addressing this issue.
Adam Webb from Count advocated that “The industry needs to rattle the cage and agitate harder as a united front to push for timely regulatory changes.”
Evan Poole from Australian Retirement Trust (ART) shared a compelling statistic: members who receive financial advice are seven times more likely to contribute to their super and twice as likely to consolidate their funds. Poole emphasised that increasing engagement with advice is crucial to unlocking these benefits for members.
If super funds are to meet their RIC requirements the choice must be to provide greater access to more affordable and accessible advice.
- Data-driven strategies are not just important for engagement, they are critical
Michelle Lusty of Bravura highlighted the transformative power of data in advice delivery. By leveraging member data, funds can send targeted nudges through the right channels at the right time.
Building member confidence by using data to target nudges at the right time and across the right channel is critical, particularly when looking to provoke an action from disengaged members.
“We have a whole range of funds come and talk to us,” Lusty highlighted. Many are funds at different stages of their advice strategy and retirement strategy journeys. And we know from these conversations that the data strategy for all these funds is important, as is finding the right technology partner to deliver on the promise.
ART’s Poole agreed, stating the challenge they are facing now is how to get many more people involved and engaged. He added that the data strategy is so important because funds know the data they have about their members.
He explained that data allows funds to cohort members and identify opportunities to offer advice – for example, determining eligibility for the age pension. However, he noted that tools must go beyond internal data to capture external financial circumstances like debts and assets outside super.
The next evolution for ART is focussing on digital advice and how it can enable the business to create an end-to-end experience through marketing communications, online retirement estimate calculators, and, crucially, hybrid advice. Open architecture and thinking about intra-fund advice is what they believe they should provide to their members at the time that suits them.
- Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good
AMP’s Edwina Maloney said taking incremental steps forward to make advice more accessible rather than seeking perfection is incredibly important for super funds and helps build momentum whilst draws a line under any negativity.
“It is also very clear for a fund what their member demographics are all and being able to provide the advice model that’s actually linked and supports those members,” said Maloney. “Really understanding what the members needs are I think is really important and then matching the right channels of advice to meet those needs is the important first step.”
- Technology is the enabler you need for tailored, scalable, and personalised advice
The panelists agreed that technology is the key enabler for the future of financial advice. By integrating data insights, digital tools, and scalable hybrid advice models, funds can provide solutions tailored to members at every stage of their financial journey.
As Michelle Lusty aptly summarised, “The data and technology are already there. She went on to say “the funds we are working with are already able to include the financial circumstances of the member’s assets and income outside super as well as their partner’s financial circumstances in the member’s retirement projection.”
The focus is clear:
- For Members: Simplify education and advice, enhance confidence, and deliver actionable insights for better retirement outcomes.
- For Funds: Use technology to scale advice delivery, personalise engagement, and meet the diverse needs of their member base.
The challenge now is for funds to connect the dots, deliver actionable education and advice, and meet members where they are.”
The future of advice in 2025 and beyond is one where every member has access to the right advice, at the right time, through the right channel—empowering them to retire with confidence and security.
About the author
More Insights
