David Rhind
Australia’s superannuation sector is increasingly turning to technology driven solutions to harness the value of investment data according to David Rhind, Anova Solution Manager, Asia-Pacific with DST Global Solutions.
Speaking at a recent DST Global Solutions breakfast briefing in Sydney, Mr Rhind said the increasing complexity of investment operations of Australia’s superannuation sector has meant that those organisations who take a strategic approach to the management of their investment data will gain tangible business benefit, over and above mandated regulatory compliance.
“Accessing accurate and timely data is relatively straightforward when it’s low volume or from a single source. Where organisations struggle is the growing requirement to collate data across multiple sources and achieve greater granularity, as we are seeing with the Stronger Super reporting. It is here that an effective investment data management technology is a distinct advantage.
“Tactical responses are perfectly valid to meet specific regulatory demands but essentially this does not move the business forward.”
According to Mr Rhind, organisations are finding more innovative ways to better manage investment data in order to gain competitive advantage and return benefits to members and stakeholders.
“Effective investment data management can dramatically improve operational efficiencies, investment option decision making capability, as well as greater transparency.
“We are finding that many financial organisations that initially engage with us to resolve mandated regulatory requirements, are identifying wider, strategic business benefits they can obtain by leveraging their initial technology investment,” he said.
“Technology driven solutions, like DST’s Anova, delivers a market leading combination of investment data management components and analytics engines to help organisations make sense of complex information for insightful decision-making. Super funds can use the data for regulatory reporting, post-trade compliance and position keeping or bolster an organisation’s Investment Book of Record (IBOR). In such a competitive landscape, this is a tremendous advantage,” said Mr Rhind.
Anova is utilised by more than 40 firms globally with assets under management ranging up to $3 trillion.
Keynote speaker at the breakfast briefing, John Brogden, CEO, Financial Services Council said Australia’s superannuation sector is working well and delivering huge benefits to the Government and the Australian financial system however, questions are increasingly being asked about the slow adoption of technology in the sector.
“By and large the superannuation sector is effectively allocating capital back into the Australian financial system. Australia’s savings rate is three times higher than it would have been without superannuation. Today, Australia’s superannuation sector is worth $1.8 trillion, it will move to $3 trillion in 2025 and to $5.5 trillion by 2030,” Mr Brogden said.
However, some things could hold back the growth of the sector, including the slow adoption of technology by wealth managers, including super funds, Mr Brodgen said.
“Our industry hasn’t positioned itself to fully take advantage of technology. However, this is changing as super funds want to remain innovative and competitive.
“Over the past few years, the super industry has been focused on compliance. This focus is shifting to innovating through technology,” he said.