Growing demand for specialised apps for super, wealth management
Specialised smart phone and iPad applications (“apps”) are the next big thing in the financial services industry, according to Rice Warner Actuaries, an actuarial and research company that also creates online and other tools and calculators for use by the financial services industry and its customers.
x
The company has seen dramatically increased interest from clients for branded apps that they can offer to members and staff. Rice Warner Senior Consultant Greg Wilkinson said this was particularly the case among clients in the super sector, but he has also been receiving enquiries from the wealth management and financial advice industries.
x
“Super funds have seen how online tools and calculators can be a great platform for member engagement and now want to take the next logical step, which is to provide their members with a range of apps that they can use on their mobile phones or iPads, helping them to become better informed about their super quickly and conveniently,” Mr Wilkinson said.
x
Rice Warner is also receiving enquiries from financial planning groups for apps that their advisers can use on iPads when consulting with their clients and from wealth managers interested in providing their sales people with tools they can use on the move and in remote locations where internet access cannot be guaranteed.
x
“We believe the popularity of apps in the financial services sector will grow very quickly. When we launched our online calculators a couple of years ago, we observed that the rest of the industry had seen the benefits enjoyed by the first adopters and quickly followed suit. We expect that this will also be the case with apps.
x
“Our clients also want to show their customers that they are at the forefront of technological developments and feel that they really need to get into this space to remain relevant.”
x
Rice Warner recently launched a suite of what they believe are Australia’s first genuine superannuation apps. These can be customised to align with any organisation’s branding and fund design features. The range currently includes retirement, salary sacrifice, insurance needs and home loan calculators and other apps can be provided according to clients’ requirements.
x
The retirement and home loan calculators are currently available for free trial on the iTunes store or through the Rice Warner website.