Institutional investment managers and superannuation funds are using investment data management to evolve and launch new products and better engage clients, according to senior executives from DST Global Solutions.
“Product development has to date been driven by regulation but we are at the start of a new product development push based on the management of investment data,” DST global head of data management and analytics Julian Webb said.
“Institutional managers and funds are using this data to dissect their database and better understand what their clients want and may use it to bring more investment capabilities in-house, which is a trend emerging in the US and UK.”
DST head of business development Australia and New Zealand Rhys Octigan said institutional managers and superannuation funds had already started down the path of measuring daily performance to find more areas of transparency and information to clients.
“At every touch point in the industry everyone is asking how to provide the right data at the right time to the right people,” Octigan said.
“As a result, in Australia we are seeing the larger superannuation funds looking more like retail funds in how they engage clients and broaden their services. This has come off the back of technology which is evolving and progressing what these funds look like.”
The fund has achieved double-digit returns amid market volatility, reinforcing the value of long-term investment strategies for its members.
Australian super funds notched a third consecutive year of strong returns, with the median balanced option delivering an estimated 10.1 per cent over the 2024-25 financial year, but an economist has warned that the rally may be harder to sustain as key risks gather pace.
AustralianSuper has reported a 9.52 per cent return for its Balanced super option for the 2024–25 financial year, as markets delivered another year of strong performance despite the complex investing environment.
The profit-to-member super fund’s MySuper default option has returned 9.85 per cent for the financial year 2024–25.