SMAs the key to keeping SMSFs on platform
For many years, proponents of Separately Managed Accounts (SMAs) have exclaimed their virtues for servicing the investment needs of advised self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs). SMAs provide financial advisers the ability to generate administrative efficiency in managing multiple client portfolios in return for trading off some of the tailoring afforded by bespoke direct share portfolios, without […]
Read more...The cost consequences of a regulatory merry-go-round
Regulatory change has been and always will be part of financial services – over the years around the world regulatory reforms have helped the industry improve how we serve our customers. However, the sheer amount of regulatory change over the last five years is unprecedented, and the benefit of some changes is yet to be […]
Read more...Getting segmentation right: knowing who is going to vote 1 for you
If winning elections is predicated on having the strongest understanding of your constituents’ hearts and minds, then so too is a successful distribution strategy when it comes to your intermediaries and clients. As the 2nd July federal election post-mortem continues to dominate news cycles, what is clear is that this is precisely where things have […]
Read more...SMSFs running out of puff!
Once seen as perhaps the primary strategic problem facing superannuation funds, there is suddenly much less noise around SMSFs these days – news articles available to search on Google are down by 55% in just a year, and calls into the Tria/NMG office asking how to respond to the threat have all but dried up. […]
Read more...The Asia Region Funds Passport: solving the wrong problem
The nirvana of an Asian funds passport – that would allow Australian fund managers unfettered access to Asia’s growing middle classes and already substantial private banking client set – has been enticingly close to our grasp for some time. It has been a meaningful policy objective of various firms and their industry representatives and the […]
Read more...Super-focussed budget creates product opportunities outside of super
We have become accustomed to seeing all meaningful budget initiatives plastered across the front page of the press in the week leading up to budget night. But this year the government kept a few superannuation ‘enhancements’ up its sleeve, and the impacts will be felt across the industry. We focus here on just one of […]
Read more...A maturing superannuation industry part II: no sign of an uptick in consolidation
We established in part I of this series that whilst the superannuation market will continue to grow for a long time yet, the organic growth rate (growth driven by flows, rather than investment returns) has almost halved over the last ten years, and will continue to come down. We also showed that the spoils of […]
Read more...A maturing superannuation industry, part I: declining organic growth
Last week’s release of the 2015-16 Tria Super Funds Review showed that a meaningful proportion of large superannuation funds are in net outflow. APRA agreed, making public comments last week to the effect that 45% of the superannuation funds it regulates are not generating enough in contributions to offset benefits paid to members and balances […]
Read more...Fixed income funds enjoying a renaissance
Fixed income products have long been considered the poor cousin of equity, property and even multi-sector products. They offer lower margins, limited potential for high returns and the market has a generally low level of understanding of how fixed income works. However, fixed income funds are enjoying a renaissance of sorts. Today’s first chart shows […]
Read more...Taking another look at distribution strategies for fund managers
During the lower netflow environment post-2008, many fund managers restructured retail distribution teams to shift the focus away from servicing individual advisers and towards ‘head office’ relationships. The idea was that the centre of power had shifted from advisers constructing portfolios themselves to head office researchers who build model portfolios. It was logical, then, that […]
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