• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

SuperGuide

Superannuation and retirement planning information

  • SuperGuide Premium
  • Account
  • Log In
  • SuperGuide Premium
  • Account
  • Log In
  • How super works
    • Super for beginners
    • Super rules
    • Employers guide to super
    • Super contributions
    • Super and tax
    • Accessing super
    • Super news
    • Women and super
    • Super tips and strategies
    • How-to guides
    • Super quizzes
    • Superannuation Q&As
    • Superannuation glossary
  • Super funds
    • Best performing super funds
    • Super fund rankings
    • Best performing pension funds
    • Pension fund rankings
    • Super fund average returns
    • Super investing strategies
    • Comparing super funds
    • Choosing a super fund
    • Choosing an investment option
    • Super fund fees
    • Insurance and super
    • Super fund profiles
  • SMSFs
    • SMSFs for beginners
    • SMSF administration
    • SMSF checklists
    • SMSF compliance
    • SMSF investing
    • SMSF pensions
    • SMSF strategies
    • SMSF Q&As
  • Plan your retirement
    • Retirement planning for beginners
    • When should I retire?
    • How long will I live?
    • How much super do I need?
    • Will I get the Age Pension?
    • How much will I spend in retirement?
    • Financial advice
    • Retiring overseas
    • Preparing for retirement
    • Retirement planning strategies
    • Retirement calculators and reckoners
  • In retirement
    • Income in retirement
    • Super lump sums
    • Super pensions
    • Age Pension
    • Working in retirement
    • Life in retirement
    • Senior concessions and services
    • Aged care
    • Estate planning
    • Super death benefits

Home / Super funds / Comparing super funds / Innovation in super: Technology used to engage members but retirement income products the next frontier

Innovation in super: Technology used to engage members but retirement income products the next frontier

November 11, 2019 by Barbara Drury Leave a Comment

Reading time: 4 minutes

On this page

  • Disruptors seize the moment
  • Targeting Millennials via their mobiles
  • Member engagement? There’s an app for that
  • Keeping advisers and members in the loop
  • HostPlus welcomes SMSFs aboard
  • The next frontier

Innovation in superannuation sounds like an oxymoron. In an industry with funds under management of almost $2.9 trillion and powerful vested interests, change comes slowly even in the best of times.

And these are challenging times for the super industry.

“The pace of innovation has slowed down over the last 12 months post-Royal Commission. Regulatory changes are sucking up a lot of bandwidth,” says SuperRatings executive director, Kirby Rappell.

Disruptors seize the moment

While the big funds absorb recent legislation, it’s perhaps not surprising that some noteworthy innovation is coming from entrepreneurial outsiders hungry for a slice of that $2.9 trillion pie.

At the SuperRatings 2019 Fund of the Year awards, financial disruptors such as Raiz and online retailer Kogan (yes, you read that correctly!) were finalists in the Best New Innovation category.

So, what were some of the leading innovations over the past year and what does it tell us about where super is headed?


Advertisement
SuperGuide Premium is ad-free

SuperRatings 2019 Best New Innovation Award for the most innovative product or service launch

Winner

Hostplus Self-managed Invest

Finalists

  • First State Super Explorer
  • Intrust Super SuperCents
  • Kogan Super
  • Raiz Invest Super
  • Sunsuper Adviser Online Transact

Targeting Millennials via their mobiles

For new entrants like Raiz and Kogan, the focus is on convenience. Their mobile platforms are skewed towards the under-35s – super members who want to do the right thing with their money but lack the time or expertise to manage their own investments.

It’s too early to tell if there will be a trade-off in long-term performance.


Raiz Invest Super (launched in July 2018) is an extension of its mobile-based app, which rounds up your purchases and invests the small change in indexed funds. Its super product offers the same six investment options based on your risk appetite. Fees are in the bottom 25% of funds and are currently around $425 on a $50,000 balance.

Kogan Super, launched in April 2019, is a simple, low-fee, online super product in partnership with Mercer, which handles the admin and investment management. It offers five investment options (mostly indexed funds) based on your risk tolerance and default death and TPD insurance. Its fees of around $335 on a $50,000 balance are among the three lowest on offer.


Member engagement? There’s an app for that

It’s not just digital disruptors using technology to connect with members.

“For all super funds, next to investment performance the focus now is on member engagement,” says Rappell.

Compare super funds

Read more...

Advertisement

Industry funds First State Super and Intrust Super emerged from a crowded field of new apps designed with members in mind.

While the push is on for fewer, bigger super funds to take advantage of economies of scale, Rappell says the inclusion of Intrust, a small industry fund based in Queensland, is proof that even small funds can bring innovation to the market. 


Intrust Super SuperCents is a savings app to help members invest their spare change into their super account. Like Raiz, it rounds up everyday transactions and removes the need to fill in voluntary contribution forms.

First State Super Explorer is a retirement income calculator. As well as your projected super balance, it allows you to include non-super investments, the Age Pension and your partner’s super. While open to the public, the member version pre-fills your information.


Keeping advisers and members in the loop

Post-Royal Commission, the quality and transparency of financial advice has come under the spotlight. Australians have voted with their feet, with many members switching from adviser-mediated retail funds to better-performing, lower-fee industry funds.

Ironically, one of the challenges facing industry funds is a largely unmet demand from members for personal financial advice.

Advertisement

Rappell says more industry funds are trying to improve their engagement with financial advisers as a way of better engaging members. One notable innovation in this area over the last year came from SunSuper.

“SunSuper is using digital smarts to help close the loop between member, adviser and fund,” he says.


SunSuper Adviser Online Transact allows advisers to monitor client super accounts, access research reports and help clients implement transactions. It has also digitised the eight transactions most commonly used by the fund’s advisers. Members receive a text message when their adviser interacts with their account, allowing members to authorise changes.


HostPlus welcomes SMSFs aboard

SuperRatings gave its top gong for innovation to industry fund HostPlus, which has opened its doors to SMSF investors.

Rappell says most funds are looking at how to grow scale. By tapping into a new source of funds (SMSFs), HostPlus increases its ability to reduce fees and provide other benefits to retain and attract members.

For SMSFs, it addresses the challenge many of them face gaining access to bulky and expensive alternative assets such as infrastructure and unlisted property.


Advertisement

HostPlus Self-managed Invest allows SMSFs to invest in HostPlus investment options. This helps SMSFs build a more diversified portfolio at low cost in areas they might not otherwise have access to. It includes listed and unlisted assets with a unit price structure that provides liquidity. Pre-determined costs include investment administration, compliance and reporting.


Industry funds have pioneered direct investment in unlisted alternative assets, a factor that has helped them ride out periods of market volatility and smooth returns.

“Over the next ten years we will see more diverse asset allocation. A significant focus for all investors will be how to get access to alternative assets at a reasonable access point,” says Rappell.

The next frontier

Rappell says innovation in coming years will come from two areas of focus within super funds.

“A huge amount of time and effort is being spent on data to better understand their members and then using that information to help engage their members.”

The other focus is retirement income products. This is an area where innovation has been sorely lacking, stymied by government regulation and the challenge of finding a balance between more predictable income, cost and complexity.

“It’s a tough time for retirees. The big challenge of low interest rates is that it’s difficult for retirees to generate the returns they need to live day to day.

Rappell says product launches are in the works but some funds are holding back until they receive more government direction.

Watch this space.

Are you with a top performing super fund?

Click here to compare more than 90 Australian super funds, including returns, fees, features, awards and more.

Learn more about comparing super funds in the following SuperGuide articles:

What is MySuper, and which super funds have MySuper products?

February 26, 2021

Super and pension funds with the lowest fees

February 16, 2021

Super funds with the lowest fees for life and TPD insurance

January 20, 2021

How your super fund works and who’s who in your fund

January 4, 2021

Super and pension fund performance: Where does your fund rank?

November 12, 2020

How to compare super funds in 7 easy steps

October 1, 2020

List of APRA-regulated superannuation funds

April 1, 2020

What are the different types of super funds?

March 9, 2020

How to benchmark your super fund

January 4, 2020

Fund Performance: SMSFs vs APRA super funds

May 7, 2019

Related topics

Comparing super funds Super funds

IMPORTANT: All information on SuperGuide is general in nature only and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. You should consider whether any information on SuperGuide is appropriate to you before acting on it. If SuperGuide refers to a financial product you should obtain the relevant product disclosure statement (PDS) or seek personal financial advice before making any investment decisions. Comments provided by readers that may include information relating to tax, superannuation or other rules cannot be relied upon as advice. SuperGuide does not verify the information provided within comments from readers. Learn more

© Copyright SuperGuide 2009-21. Copyright for this article belongs to SuperGuide Pty Ltd, and cannot be reproduced without express and specific consent. Learn more

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

How super works
Super for beginners
Super rules
Employers guide to super
Super contributions
Super and tax
Accessing super
Super news
Women and super
Super tips and strategies
How-to guides
Super quizzes
Superannuation Q&As
Superannuation glossary
Super funds
Best performing super funds
Super fund rankings
Best performing pension funds
Pension fund rankings
Super fund average returns
Super investing strategies
Comparing super funds
Choosing a super fund
Choosing an investment option
Super fund fees
Insurance and super
Super fund profiles
SMSFs
SMSFs for beginners
SMSF administration
SMSF checklists
SMSF compliance
SMSF investing
SMSF pensions
SMSF strategies
SMSF Q&As
Plan your retirement
Retirement planning for beginners
When should I retire?
How long will I live?
How much super do I need?
Will I get the Age Pension?
How much will I spend in retirement?
Financial advice
Retiring overseas
Preparing for retirement
Retirement planning strategies
Retirement calculators and reckoners
In retirement
Income in retirement
Super lump sums
Super pensions
Age Pension
Working in retirement
Life in retirement
Senior concessions and services
Aged care
Estate planning
Super death benefits
Advertisement
Compare super funds

Footer

Important: Disclaimer

All information on SuperGuide is general in nature only and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs.

You should consider whether any information on SuperGuide is appropriate to you before acting on it.

If SuperGuide refers to a financial product you should obtain the relevant product disclosure statement (PDS) or seek personal financial advice before making any investment decisions.

Learn more

About SuperGuide

SuperGuide is Australia’s leading superannuation and retirement planning website. Learn more

Superguide Pty Ltd ATF Superguide Unit Trust as a Corporate Authorised Representative (CAR) is a Corporate Authorised Representative of Independent Financial Advisers Australia, AFSL 464629

  • Contact us
  • Advertise on SuperGuide
  • Careers

Before using this website

  • New to SuperGuide?
  • Terms and Conditions of Use
  • Financial Services Guide
  • Privacy Policy and Privacy Collection
  • Copyright Policy
  • Editorial Policy and Complaints
  • Disclaimer

  • SuperGuide Premium
  • Subscriber feedback
  • Sitemap