Damien Mu

AIA Australia’s expansion of its Priority Protection insurance range on investment platforms continues, with AIA Vitality available for purchase on PPPI policies from yesterday.

Investors looking to secure life insurance cover will now be able to purchase AIA Vitality on platforms that include Asgard, HUB24, LifeFocus, Personal Choice Private, PowerWrap, Portfolio Care, and netwealth. It will also be available on the IOOF Pursuit platform later this year.

AIA Vitality Is available through financial advisers, and rewards members with points for displaying healthy behaviour, including discounts on shopping, entertainment and travel purchases, and discounts on eligible insurance premiums.

AIA Australia’s Chief Executive Officer, Damien Mu, said the integration of AIA Vitality with PPPI on these platforms will allow more advisers to purchase it through their preferred platform.

“We know that platforms are becoming an increasingly popular business channel for advisers to write risk, so we’ve got to make sure we tailor our products accordingly”, Mr. Mu said. “AIA Vitality has made a huge difference in helping advisers change the conversation around life insurance with their clients and we want to make the program more accessible for them. Platforms will help us do this.”

According to recent statistics from the Investment Trends Planner Risk Report for June 2014, the proportion of risk written on platforms has remained steady over the last 12 months at 38% and is expected to remain steady into 2015. Looking forward, 80% of planners say they intend to use platforms for risk in the next 12 months[1]. Platforms help advisers to streamline their administrative and compliance requirements when writing risk products, and offer a more competitive range of insurance products to complement their client’s investments.

Matt Heine, Executive Director at netwealth Investment Limited, said: “AIA Vitality is unlike any other program in the market at the moment, and we’re confident it will appeal to our advisers and clients. We like the fact that it helps people to improve their health and get rewarded for it, but it also increases their overall engagement with life insurance and superannuation.”

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Kelly Power

BT Financial Group continues to honour its commitment to minimise the administrative burden for advisers at tax time by delivering more resources and faster delivery of investor statements through its Asgard and BT Wrap platforms.

Asgard and BT Wrap platforms have been building their EOFY solutions for advisers and in 2013 this has continued with website development, the addition of the tax report estimator tool to BT SuperWrap and faster delivery of investor statements.

Kelly Power, head of platforms at BT Financial Group said advisers are looking for timely, accurate and electronic access to critical EOFY information so they can focus on their clients.

“EOFY is a critical time in any advice business and the faster, more accurate and more accessible we can make vital information the more value advisers can demonstrate to their clients,” Ms Power said.

In 2013 some of the improvements include: 

• 50% uplift (year-on-year) in the use of the tax report estimator tools (which provides advisers with the estimated delivery date for client reports and a confirmed date once reports are finalised).
• Over 10,000 unique visits to the BT Wrap EOFY microsite which provides critical year-end processing and contribution cut-off dates.
• To date 98% of statements have been delivered within 7 business days of the published estimated delivery date.
• Asgard’s 30 June investor reports were available online on 24 July and were mailed by 31 July.
• In FY2012 BT Wrap introduced eStatements and over 17,000 clients received their statements up to ten days earlier than previous years. In FY2013 BT expects a further 8,000 clients to receive their statements electronically.
• Asgard sent out its first tranche of tax reports to investors on 31 July almost a month earlier than 2012. The second tranche will be available online on 23 August and mailed by 27 August. This will be an 8% increase in the number of investor reports available at the same stage last year.

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The platform is a private label platform administered by Asgard for members of the Association of Independently Owned Financial Planners (AIOFP).

The partnership with Asgard is the second platform partnership AIA Australia has established in little more than a year.

Head of Retail Distribution, Pina Sciarrone, said advisers were writing more business via platforms due to features such as simple functionality and cash flow advantages for end clients (the latter stemming from the fact that insurance premiums are paid from superannuation or investment accounts).

“Advisers are now writing a third of their risk business through platform providers due to the ease of use and accessibility* .

This trend has driven changes to AIA Australia’s business structure and product development to ensure our products and services remain relevant to our adviser, dealer group and platform partners as this market continues to grow,” Ms Sciarrone said.

AIA Australia’s first platform partnership launched on the netwealth Life WRAP facility in September 2011. Ms Sciarrone said the partnership continued to be very successful, with strong growth in its first 12 months.

The new partnerships have contributed to the growth of AIA Australia across its retail, group and direct businesses which for all of AIA Australia has been more than double that of the industry during the last 12 months with premium inflows growing at 33.0% vs market growth of 11.9%**.

“Based on the success of the netwealth partnership and the increased use of platforms by advisers, we expect to see similar results with the launch of Priority Protection on Personal Choice Private and look forward to working with advisers and practices via the private label platform to help grow their businesses,” she said.

AIA Australia makes new hire to support growth in platform and dealerships
The launch follows the appointment of Sam Tremethick to the newly created role of National Manager, Strategic Partnerships, as a dedicated resource for AIA Australia’s platform and dealership partners.

Ms Sciarrone said the establishment of the Strategic Partnerships team within Retail Distribution including David Tilley (National Dealership Manager) and Amy Mitchell (National Client and Dealership Development Manager) and Mr Tremethick was made to specifically service the platform and dealership space.

“We expect to see continued growth in the area of platforms as advisers demand solutions which are going to free them of administrative hassle and enable them to focus on providing financial and risk advice,” Ms Sciarrone concluded.

*Source: Coredata 2011 Risk Survey
**Source: Plan For Life, Market Overview Risk Insurance Press Release. 9 October 2012

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BT Financial Group Head of Platforms Kelly Power said Infinity was a very attractive solution for a range of clients as it was fully featured but only charged clients for what they used.  

“Surpassing the $2 billion milestone in less than a year since launching in October 2011 is a testament to the strength of the Infinity offering,” Ms Power said. 

“Infinity is unique in the market as it allows clients to pay only for what they use, making it particularly appealing to those with low balances or specific investment needs. 

“The beauty of Infinity is as a client’s needs change and balances grow, you can add features or switch between Infinity and the full Asgard eWRAP without any CGT event or time out of the market.

“The highly competitive price and the fact there are no administration fees for cash and term deposits have also proved extremely popular.” 

Ms Power said Infinity had been designed with the Future of Financial Advice reforms in mind. 

“The fully customisable, flexible and transparent advice fee structure supports all advice propositions and fee arrangements, including fee-for-service,” Ms Power said. 

“Advisers are in control of customising the offering so it can help them service new and diverse segments such as self-managed super funds in the new regulatory environment.”

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Infinity eWRAP, which will be available to advisers as soon as next month, will break with the traditional platform model by charging clients only for the features that they use. Advisers will have access to all of the features of a full-featured platform and will have the power to choose the options appropriate for their clients. 

Asgard’s national product manager Kelly Power said Infinity will suit a range of investors and help advisers succeed in the new environment. 

“On Infinity, investors will only pay for the features they use. 

“Infinity is a low-cost investment and super platform suitable for clients with lower balances. It will put advisers in control – giving them the power to choose from the full range of optional platform features such as equities, term deposits and insurance, and as clients’ needs and balances change and evolve they can simply add new options.”

“It’s analogous to Foxtel – where consumers pay for a basic package and then only pay for the specific additional features they use.”

 Ms Power said Infinity will suit investors with specific needs, such as those who are only investing in cash and equities and who do not need or want to pay for a full-featured platform.

“We think this will have particularly strong appeal to the fast-growing self-managed super fund market as it’s suited to the way they invest and also addresses their higher sensitivity to fees. It will also help advisers grow their client base by tapping into other important and growing client segments – such as younger Australians and industry super fund clients.” 

She said Infinity was timely given the significant challenges advisers faced in the new regulatory and commercial environment. 

“Times have changed and we’ve anticipated that. Asgard’s Infinity will allow advisers to adapt and thrive in a commercial and regulatory environment that now demands lower costs and more flexibility, transparency and efficiency.” 

As investors’ needs evolve, they will also be able to seamlessly transfer to Asgard’s fully-featured eWRAP.

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Craig Lawrenson, Head of Asgard, today announced the promotion of Darren Whereat to Head of Distribution following a review of Asgard’s sales and business support teams.

Darren was promoted to the role after 2 years as Asgard’s Head of Institutional Business and Key Accounts. Darren will be responsible for management and achievement of the distribution strategy including a focus on stronger relationships with key partners and growing Asgard’s Private Label business.

Mr Lawrenson said Darren will lead a strengthened distribution team that includes a state manager for each mainland state and consolidates the previous Institutional Business Services and Key Accounts & Distribution businesses.

“The new Asgard distribution model ensures the team is clearly accountable for all sales and business activities, enabling Asgard to provide an even better service to our advisers,” Mr Lawrenson said.

“Asgard has a strong base of product development – with plenty more in the pipeline – and Darren’s team will ensure all advisers can take advantage of the development program as it is rolled out.”

Mr Whereat also announced the appointment of Tim North Ash as National Manager – Key Accounts,  Institutional and NSW Sales.

“Tim joins us from BT Wrap where he was responsible for leading a team that manages their key national accounts. He will be a fantastic addition to the Asgard business and bring new ideas and proven leadership to the way we execute our Key Account strategies.”

Mr Whereat added he was pleased with the broadened role and expanded team and excited about Asgard’s direction.

“Platforms need the scale and resources to respond to changing needs. Asgard’s offering makes it a compelling proposition in the marketplace and our team will ensure our focus is on delivering on that
offer,” he said.

“We want to support advisers deliver on their true value proposition, which is about providing strategic advice.”

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“Winning awards for both our platforms is a fantastic achievement and reflects the strength of our two platform strategy,” John Shuttleworth, General Manager Platforms, said.

“What’s particularly pleasing is these awards come off the back of some fantastic momentum within the platforms business. We’re growing market share and are making significant investments in both platforms to ensure we continually enhance the experiences of advisers,” he said.

“Across both platforms we’re implementing tailored 3-year equities programs that include model portfolio tools, custodial shares solution, online corporate actions, tax optimisation as well as new desktop features, functionality and improved downloads.”

Mr Shuttleworth noted that their relationship with advisers who use their platforms and responding to their client’s investment demand is incredibly important and is what has contributed to Asgard and BT Wrap’s historical growth.

All products nominated for both the Best Investment and Best Super Platform Awards were assessed according to three key categories:

• Features, terms and conditions
• Investment option menu
• Fee structure.

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BTFG’s General Manager of Platforms, Marketing & Communications, John Shuttleworth, said, “It is fantastic to be making an internal appointment into the Head of Asgard position after a very comprehensive internal and external search over the past few months.

“Craig is very well positioned to take on this leadership role,” Shuttleworth said. “He knows what advisers and dealer groups want from their platform providers, he has more knowledge than just about anyone on what platforms can deliver to advisers and their clients, he’s deeply engaged in the current regulatory reform agenda and he knows how to motivate a team to consistently deliver high quality projects and product enhancements.

“That’s quite a combination of skills which Craig’s developed over many years in the BT Wrap business, and based on this background he’ll be hitting the ground running in Asgard,” Shuttleworth said.

“Craig’s joining Asgard at an important time for the business. It has good momentum in terms of its service delivery, its new distribution structure which better aligns our team to advisers, and the exciting pipeline of product enhancements which will build on recent developments on the Asgard master trust and the newly launched first phase of our three-year program of equities enhancements.”

Lawrenson has been with BT for some 14 years, most recently as Head of Product and Strategy for BT Wrap with responsibility for the design, execution and ongoing management of product strategy for BT Wrap. A chartered accountant, he joined BTFG in 1996 in fund accounting and during his career at BTFG has held various roles in Wrap operations, product management, strategy and product development.

Lawrenson’s appointment is effective 1 October 2010.

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Kelly Power, National Product Manager for Asgard, said this has been a highly anticipated product development and launches their exciting three-year equities roadmap.

“What this solution delivers is less paperwork for the adviser and their client, easy management of share opportunities and more control of their client’s corporate actions,” Kelly said.

“Asgard will streamline the administration of the adviser’s client’s shares by becoming the custodian of the shares and managing the share registry paperwork, while the client remains the beneficial owner.

“It will allow advisers to demonstrate their full value by moving their client’s shares onto the platform with their other investments and to offer advice inclusive of shares and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).

“It creates major adviser efficiencies and significantly reduces the share paperwork burden for advisers, their staff and their clients.”

Kelly said the rapid growth in ETFs and the fact shares remain the preferred vehicle for HNW investors meant it was crucial to have shares on a platform.

“Having shares on platform offers superior visibility, allows advisers to fully participate in the growth of SMSFs and helps with managing compliance and keeping general affairs in order,” she said.

“As well, the corporate actions solution allows advisers to easily view those that are open as well as recently closed, has simple click through to see all clients eligible to participate. It also has bulk election capability, reminder emails and simple downloads for offer documents.

“By giving advisers the ability to manage their client’s corporate actions online, they can spend more time with their clients and in building their businesses.

“Importantly, the custodial shares and corporate actions solution results in a fully automated and flexible all-online solution for eWRAP Investment and is tightly integrated with AdviserNET.”

Kelly said the Asgard team was looking forward to the next phases of their equities roadmap which included extending the shares capability with templating and bulk trading.

How a custodial shares account operates:

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This makes Asgard one of the first platforms to make the entire process available online.

General Manager of BT Financial Group’s Platforms business, John Shuttleworth, said the business was committed to a significant program of enhancements for the Asgard platform which will be rolled out over the next three years.

“This new tax process will free up advisers to spend more time face-to-face with their clients, as opposed to being knee-deep in administration,” John said.

“This is evidence of why Asgard was recently ranked in the Wealth Insights 2010 Service Level Report as being leaders in the IT and web functionality area.”

The key benefits to advisers and investors:

• Advisers will be able to complete the entire process for tax deductions in super online – making it a simpler, more efficient process for themselves, their staff and their clients.
• A user friendly manual for advisers and support staff has been developed to help them use the new system.
• Investors will only need to send Asgard a Personal Tax Deduction Notice form once per year (unless they’re starting a pension, requesting a full or partial transfer or lump sum withdrawal).
• Investors will only need to provide Asgard with a single dollar amount for the total amount they plan to claim as a tax deduction, instead of having to break up the amount they intend to claim across multiple contributions.

John said the pilot of the system garnered positive feedback from advisers who agreed the process gave them greater control and flexibility over how they manage their client accounts.

“The key change is that advisers can now complete the entire process online and, while advisers can still choose the paper-based processing option, we think the majority will choose the faster more efficient online option.”

He added this was one part of a long term investment program for the Asgard platform.

“We’re excited about the next phase of the Asgard investment program that includes a three year equities program incorporating: a new custodial shares solution; ability to manage corporate actions online and model portfolio tools.

“In addition, we are introducing improved functionality to enable customers to transfer between Asgard’s Elements, Master Trust and eWRAP product ranges and updating our AdviserNET functionality as well as data downloads.”

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