POWERED BY MOMENTUM MEDIA
Equip Super signs onto PractiFI platform
Equip Super has partnered with PractiFI as the multi-sector industry fund looks to expand its relationships with superannuation fund members.
According to PractiFI's founder, Adrian Johnstone, the superannuation industry today is marred by a product-first focus, with member engagement and customer retention seen as growing concerns for industry funds.
"Customer experience is increasingly becoming the key point of difference in the superannuation industry," he said.
"Today's systems are siloed and outmoded. They lack the ability to easily integrate or adapt."
Equip Super's executive officer of strategic marketing and communications, Geoff Brooks, said the convergence in investment performance and fees among industry funds has culminated with a growing need for frictionless customer experience and relevant, real-time data insights.
"Like most funds, we've been grappling with this idea of becoming better engaged with members and specifically we've been looking at process improvement," Brooks said.
"There's not the disparity in fees and performance [among] industry funds as there once was. Generally speaking, most funds have their moment in the sun, so the point of difference is going to be the [customer] experience and it's something that is intangible."
Brooks said that super funds were "starting to come to grips" with overlaying customer data with other third party data - such as economic indicators and movements in the Australian Securities Exchange - to determine the relevance of data and develop a better understanding of their members.
He said Equip Super was currently in the process of transitioning towards implementing psychographic segmentation to develop a single, holistic view of fund members.
"We are going through a much wider digital transformation in the business. We've been into analytics for quite a while [as well as] behavioural segmentation and the PractiFI [partnership] is part of that," he said.
"The key challenge is interfacing these [data insights] with access to member administration platforms which are largely legacy platforms [and] determining what data is important."
AUTHOR
Daniel Paperny
Daniel Paperny is a technology journalist for Cirrus Media, writing for financial services mastheads FST Media, Money Management and Super Review. Previously, Daniel was the editor of the Bondi View newspaper, focusing on investigative news reporting in current affairs, finance, sports and politics.
Recommended for you
Following growing criticism of the superannuation industry’s influence on capital markets and its increasing exposure to private assets, as well as regulators’ concerns about potential risks to financial stability, ASFA has released new research pushing back on these narratives.
A US-based infrastructure specialist has welcomed the $93 billion fund as a cornerstone investor.
Qantas Super has officially merged with ART over the weekend, with its CEO describing the “bittersweet” decision as being in the best financial interests of its members.
The super sector has apologised and vowed to fix widespread delays, poor service, and systemic failures in processing death benefit claims, following an ASIC review.
TOP PERFORMING FUNDS
ACS FIXED INT - AUSTRALIA/GLOBAL BOND
Fund name
3y(%)pa
1
Global X GlobalX FANG+ ETF
33.51 3 y p.a(%)
2
Spire Oaktree Opportunities XI Second Close
32.68 3 y p.a(%)
3
DomaCom Lot 21 Chellaston Road Munno Para West SA 5115 Australia
31.62 3 y p.a(%)
4
Spire Oaktree Opportunities XI First Close USD
31.36 3 y p.a(%)
5
Fidante Credit Suisse Global Private Equity
29.60 3 y p.a(%)
