Telstra Super Financial Planning has become the first client to sign with Lonsec Retire to access retirement planning tools, model portfolios and information developed by a panel of fund managers.
Lonsec Retire is a collaboration between research house Lonsec and actuarial firm Milliman and was formed in October. It is supported by an industry panel - including BT Investment Management, Colonial First State, Macquarie, Metlife, MLC and Plato Investment Management - which provides retirement strategies and information to Lonsec Retire.
Telstra Super Financial Planning general manager Ivan Jones said the addition of the Lonsec Retire service added to its increased focus on services for its members in and approaching retirement.
"The introduction of the Diversified Income investment option, which distributes its income each month, was an innovation to the super industry; having ongoing access to thought leadership through Lonsec Retire will ensure that we continue to innovate our products and services for our members," Jones said.
Telstra Super financial planners would be able to access adviser-focused strategies and support material to assist them in providing retirement advice to their clients, according to Lonsec Investment Consulting general manager Lukasz de Pourbaix.
de Pourbaix said Telstra Super financial planners would be able to use the objective-based framework, model portfolios and retirement-product-focused approved product list developed by Lonsec Retire.
In September Telstra Super launched a member direct option developed in conjunction with UBS to give members access to term deposits and online share trading in the local equities market.
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.