Last week’s Future of Superannuation Fund Administration Forum in Sydney was a real standout. I had the pleasure of moderating a session on Death and Disability Claims, while Matt took the reins on Digital Advice. A huge thanks to our brilliant guest speakers for keeping us informed, entertained and only moderately overwhelmed by the future, and here’s to doing it all again at the next event!
Regards
Sarah
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK
Emergency room vs GP, that's the answer. And what's the question? "How do you deal with your customers/members?" I heard this analogy from Frank Adler, one of the speakers at the conference last week. And it really struck a chord.
Emergency room:
reacts when something has already gone wrong
member calls - you respond
transactional
no memory of history
you explain your situation every time
GP (idealised but anyway!):
knows you, your history and your life stage
proactively flags issues before they become crises
reaches out at the right moment
speaks your language
celebrates your milestones
I like this analogy as it demonstrates a fundamental assumption about how super funds/platforms/fund managers do business with their members. Which is, for the most part, to wait for members to ask for something, and then do our level best to provide it.
When we try to move to a more proactive stance (with webinars, digital advice, etc.) those things are bolted on to an existing business model.
What if, instead, we looked to change the underlying business model to be predictive/proactive first, and reactive second. What would that look like? Would it actually save money in the long run?! What do you think?
ASIC, APRA target insurers' TPD product sustainability - Financial Standard SP - far out, we need to sort out TPD across the industry. Well actually, we need to sort out mental health in the general population but that's well outside our remit!!
Industry super funds are leaking $4.3b to retail rivals, AI is charging ahead while regulators scramble to keep up and consolidation is redrawing the super map. But amid all the noise, one thing remains firmly on the agenda - trustees are still on the hook for member outcomes.
CREW Webinar: Royal Commission Preparation and Section 19 with guest speaker Judith Charlton, Head of Internal Audit at UniSuper. Thursday, 11 June 2026 from 1-2pm via Zoom. Register here.Women only, sorry blokes.
CREW In-Person Event Sydney:The loneliest role in the building. Wednesday, 24 June 2026 from 4-7pm at the offices of Norton Rose Fulbright, Sydney with guest speakers Helen Taylor (Partner, Financial Services at Norton Rose Fulbright), Deborah Latimer (Group Chief Risk Officer at HUB24) and Geraldine de Vries (Division Director - Head of Regulatory Risk at Macquarie Group). Register here. Women only, sorry blokes.
FSC Webinar - ESG - Monday, 29 June 2026 - 1-2pm via Teams. Registration details to come soon.
For a full list of industry events relevant to SSFPP readers, click here.
PDS MANAGERS ROUNDTABLE
Most product disclosure statements technically satisfy the regulatory standard. They are clear, concise and effective - on paper. At our recent PDS Managers Roundtable we heard from guest speaker Mia Lander, a clinical psychologist - we are designing PDSs for an ideal reader and that reader almost never exists, least of all at the time that a disclosure is actually read. Read more here.
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