UniSuper, the $66 billion superannuation fund for the higher education and research sector, has opened its first on-campus shop fronts, giving members direct and simple access to its broad range of financial advice services.
The branded retail premises have been opened at Monash University, Sydney University, the University of New South Wales, the University of Western Australia and Queensland University of Technology recently, and UniSuper plans to open further on-campus centres over the next six months.
“The initiative further deepens our relationship with our university partners and makes it even easier for our members to access our extensive advice services by bringing advice to their workplace,” said Jack McCartney, UniSuper Executive Manager – Advice.
“We are committed to making our advice services accessible to all members and opening a branch on-campus is an innovative way for us to achieve this goal.”
UniSuper runs a unique advice model, employing over 55 financial advisers nationally, providing advice across superannuation, insurance and retirement strategies and products.
Currently over 15,000 UniSuper members are advised, representing over $10 billion under advice.
Each of the on-campus offices is staffed by a full-time on-campus consultant, allowing members to walk in and seek assistance with general queries, or make an appointment for a more detailed conversation at a time that suits them.
“It is exciting to have our first UniSuper centres opened and we are looking forward to rolling these out to other campuses over the coming months,” Mr McCartney said.
“In our experience, UniSuper members are showing a clear preference for face-to-face advice. This is the case for both complex comprehensive financial advice as well as with scaled advice, where a member is only looking for advice on one or two specific financial issues. Bolstering our on-campus presence will help us to facilitate more of these in-person conversations.”
