Research house Lonsec has entered into a partnership with global actuarial and consulting firm Milliman to develop a new retiree advice service for financial advisers, superannuation funds and institutions.
The partnership will unite Lonsec's portfolio construction processes and established relationships with financial advisers with Milliman's expertise, to provide retirement advice to institutions, the companies said in a statement.
It said it would "provide extensive insight, as well as a solution-set that is closely aligned to the challenges facing Australian advisers in a post-Future of Financial Advice environment and which also meets the needs of superannuation funds and institutions".
The announcement cited a white-paper the pair co-authored last year, which contended that the current financial advice model was sub-optimal in meeting the changing goals and needs of retirees.
It said that white paper — entitled ‘Boomers, Herding, Denial and Zeitgeist: Who will be First to Grasp the Post-Retirement Advice Opportunity?' — had challenged "some commonly used approaches to managing post-retirement portfolios".
"It also provides insight into the direction Lonsec and Milliman believe the advice process and the portfolio construction approach should be heading," the announcement said.
The announcement said the two companies believed that future success in funds management and financial advice would hinge on "genuinely responding to the needs of retirees".
The venture said further initiatives were planned to address, in detail, specific post-retirement investment issues that would offer progress towards timely solutions.
The future of superannuation policy remains uncertain, with further reforms potentially on the horizon as the Albanese government seeks to curb the use of superannuation as a bequest vehicle.
Superannuation funds will have two options for charging fees for the advice provided by the new class of adviser.
The proposed reforms have been described as a key step towards delivering better products and retirement experiences for members, with many noting financial advice remains the “urgent missing piece” of the puzzle.
APRA’s latest data has revealed that superannuation funds spent $1.3 billion on advice fees, with the vast majority sent to external financial advisers.