George Lucas

Acorns Grow Australia has announced it is planning to launch a superannuation product, Acorns Grow Australia Super, to help Australians build wealth for retirement.

Set to be available in March, the superannuation feature will be fully integrated into Acorns Australia’s existing app, familiar to a growing base of 400,000 signups.

The planned introduction of a superannuation product aims to extend on Acorns Australia’s active role of simplifying investing and improving the financial literacy of Australians. Having already made investing simple, it aims to do the same for superannuation.

George Lucas, Managing Director, Acorns Grow Australia, said, “We have always been much more than a savings and investment tool. It’s about improving financial literacy. We are passionate about empowering Australians to reach financial freedom by providing hands-on market experience and engaging with them along the way across both investing and savings.

“Superannuation is one of the most underappreciated aspects of personal finance and we hope to use our platform to further educate and engage users on how they can invest and build wealth for their future.”

Acorns Australia has a long history of listening to user feedback and the decision to move into superannuation stems from customer demand. Over the last 12 months, it has introduced several features because of direct feedback. This includes Little Acorns, a savings tool for children, carbon offsetting and the introduction of an ethical investing portfolio.

Lucas said, “For some time, users have been suggesting that we extend our core principles into superannuation and we are proud to be able to be working on this.

“The millennial generation, which our user base skews heavily towards, have traditionally been viewed as poor savers, but we don’t believe that stereotype at Acorns Australia.

Hundreds of thousands of young people are building up a level of savings for retirement. Similarly, we’re often told millennials do not engage with their superannuation, but we are confident we can also bust that myth with the upcoming launch of Acorns Grow Australia Super through the app.

“We see younger Australians want to take a more active interest in their financial future and we want to help them understand that superannuation should be seen as their money, to invest in a way that aligns with their values and their lives.”

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George Lucas

Micro-investing app, Acorns, has highlighted its commitment to sustainability with the launch of a new, ethical investment portfolio, available from today.

Following regular feedback from users, Acorns Australia customers will now have access to the Emerald Portfolio, an investment option designed to meet environmental, social and corporate governance standards.

Acorns Australia CEO and Managing Director, George Lucas said the launch of the Emerald Portfolio gives customers an investment portfolio aligned to their values.

“Since launching Acorns in Australia more than a year ago, one of the greatest frustrations we increasingly hear from our customers is the challenge of knowing where their money is being invested,” Lucas said.

“Acorns is a product designed with the consumer in mind; whether it’s helping them invest in markets, improve financial literacy or find money to invest. The Emerald Portfolio furthers this goal by providing users with an engaging option that empowers them to invest according to their values”

The Emerald Portfolio is fully diversified across asset classes and geographical regions, including Australian equities, international equities, bonds and cash. It has a risk-return profile similar to Acorns’ current “Moderately Aggressive” portfolio and aims to achieve similar returns.

More than one in 100 Australians have signed up to Acorns in the year since its launch, with uptake primarily from millennials looking to get a start in the investment market and increase their financial literacy.

“Millennials are more attuned to the social impact of their actions than other demographics and are driving the interest in sustainable investment. However, they also don’t want to give up their ability to get returns,” Lucas said.

“The Emerald Portfolio allows them to participate in the financial markets with an option to align their investments more closely to their values.

The portfolio launch follows another milestone in Acorns’ commitment to ethical investment, with last month’s unveiling of the Carbon Footprint estimator. This tool calculates a user’s carbon usage based on their spending activities and has the stamp of approval from Emerald Club, Australia’s largest socially-responsible investment platform.

The Carbon Footprint estimator and the Emerald Portfolio are only available to Acorns Australia customers.

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George Lucas

Micro-investing app, Acorns, yesterday launched ‘My Finances’, a new feature for Australian customers that helps them better understand and control their spending habits.

My Finances uses machine-learning to discover individual’s spending patterns and provide personalised insights into savings opportunities. It allows consumers to get an overview of their spending habits and identifying areas of wastage; such as whether a user is on track to spend more on lunch this month than last, and therefore should start bringing lunch to work.

The new features announced yesterday were developed by Acorns Australia to meet customers’ specific demands.

“Since we launched Acorns in Australia just over a year ago, one of the biggest frustrations we hear from customers is that personal finance is difficult to manage and plan, especially without the right tools,” Acorns Managing Director, George Lucas, said. “Acorns helps users save in a way traditional banking products can’t. My Finances now goes one step further on this education journey and brings the power of machine learning to assist individuals with personal, actionable insights into their finances.

“The machine-learning within Acorns allows us to provide a personalised user experience and insights without additional information being entered manually – a budget for example.”

Millennials struggle to save

Echoing the feedback from Australian consumers, new research[1] among millennials from Acorns Australia on their ability to manage money says three out of four (75 per cent) have to make sacrifices towards the end of the pay cycle in order to make ends meet.

Close to 70 per cent also claim to have a monthly budget, but half (49 per cent) confess not sticking to it. Other key findings from the research include:

• 54 per cent skimp on meals or eat cheaply to help money go further
• most use willpower to stop themselves from spending (48 per cent) rather than a hard to touch savings account
• 65 per cent believe mobile and online access to their finances is helping them be more confident about managing their money.

Carbon Footprint

Acorns Australia is also responding to user demands for a more socially responsible attitude towards finance with the launch of a Carbon Footprint estimator.

The tool calculates a user’s carbon usage based on their spending activities and has the stamp of approval from Emerald Club, Australia’s largest socially-responsible investment platform. This will only be available to Acorns Australia customers.

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George Lucas

Investment start-up app Acorns is poised to tap a fresh growth market as financial advisers realise its potential as a sound business strategy that can contribute to the longevity of their businesses by reaching out to younger Australians.

The App now has 220,000 sign-ups since its launch in 2016 (100,000 monthly active users), and according to Acorns’ managing director, George Lucas, this “staggering growth” has occurred largely because of word of mouth.

“There is a misconception among many in the financial planning community that they needed a Statement of Advice (SOA) to recommend the Acorns App to their clients or potential clients.

“This is simply not the case. The Acorns App is not a financial product; it is like a website, and as such is not a financial product. An SoA would be required if an adviser recommended what portfolio suits a client as that would be personal financial advice.

“This message is now better understood by financial advisers, and we expect them to embrace this fintech App as a new way to engage the next generation of clients.

“What’s particularly appealing to them is the App’s young audience, with about 70% of downloads by investors aged between 25 and 34 years (90% are under 45) who are discovering the benefits of regular, small savings and investments. This gives advisers the opportunity to tap the younger audience of new and existing clients.”

The App allows Australians to round up their daily purchases and automatically Invest the change into a diversified portfolio of ETFs. It has been designed to introduce first-time investors to the stock market and remove traditional entry barriers, such as high fees, associated with the sector.

Before Acorns, first-time investors in financial markets were traditionally confronted by large market fees, commission and minimum investments sums of around $1000. By simplifying this approach, Acorns enables its users to start their journey to investment with the minimum balance of $5.

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George Lucas

New research released yesterday by Acorns reveals that Australians are overwhelmingly facing mental health and substance abuse issues due to financial pressures.

The report shows that nearly one third (32 per cent) of Australians aged 25 – 44 have abused alcohol due to financial stress, while one in five (20 per cent) have turned to drugs and illicit substances.

Alarmingly, the national survey of over 1,000 Australians found that 70 per cent of respondents have experienced depression and anxiety due to money worries, with a further 54 per cent reporting physical health problems and 76 per cent having difficulty sleeping.

Almost three quarters (73 per cent) said they feel stressed about their current financial situation, with 25 per cent rating their stress level as severe, and 40 per cent admitting to experiencing financial stress regularly.

Managing director of Acorns Grow Australia, George Lucas, said the report highlights the urgent need for financial fitness to be considered as part of overall wellbeing, just like eating well or regular exercise.

“These findings should act as a wake-up call for individuals, our political leaders and mental health organisations to consider the potential health issues associated with a lack of financial know-how. Financial literacy is an important part of a healthy nation.

“Mental health issues and their causes are often a taboo topic, even in an open country such as Australia. To navigate this challenge, we need to ensure we have the necessary frameworks in place to help those facing financial difficulties to access support and advice to get their finances under control,” said Lucas.

Financial stress also takes a toll at home and work, with 52 per cent of respondents citing it as a cause of major relationship problems, and 49 per cent saying it impacts their work performance.

The report also reveals that men and women react to financial pressure in different ways.

Financial pressure is more likely to have a detrimental effect on women’s mental and physical health, while males are more likely to experience problems at work or deal with stress through escapism, turning to alcohol or substances as a coping mechanism.

When under financial stress, women are more likely to experience:

• Sleepless nights (47 per cent)
• Depression or anxiety (44 per cent)
• Illness or health issues (32 per cent)

While men are more likely to experience:

• Issues at work (25 per cent)
• Excessive drinking (19 per cent)
• Drug use or illicit substances (15 per cent)

“The research suggests that many of the pressures and health issues Australians face can be avoided if we can encourage people to honestly assess their financial situation. Financial fitness should become a part of overall wellbeing.

“Taking control of your finances can seem intimidating, but even small steps taken now can reap financial and health benefits in the long term,” Lucas added.

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