Renae Smith

In a move to help young Australians find new avenues to build wealth, Vanguard today released details of a proposal to increase investment through a new tax-incentivised investment vehicle modelled on successful schemes in the UK, Sweden, Japan and other markets.

Australia’s household wealth is concentrated in housing, superannuation, and relatively high levels of cash savings compared to investments. Global experience shows the proposed scheme — called MyInvestment — could help people move excess household cash into productive investments to build financial resilience and deepen the capital pool in Australia.

“Australians are great savers, evident in the large portion of financial assets they hold in cash, but saving large amounts of cash over time can come at the cost of long-term wealth accumulation”, said Renae Smith, Vanguard Australia’s Chief of Personal Investor.

There is clear appetite from Australians for more accessible and tax-efficient investment options. A national survey^[1] by SEC Newgate for Vanguard found that 72% of Australians support the Federal Government allowing tax-free investment accounts in Australia.

“The financial landscape in Australia is evolving at a rapid pace, and younger Australians have different financial needs than older generations as housing, which has been a traditional mainstay of Australians’ wealth, is increasingly moving out of reach. As young Australians seek effective and secure ways to build wealth beyond the traditional family home, the need to reimagine investment systems has never been more important,” Ms Smith said.

However, Australians continue to face many barriers when it comes to investing – be that a preference for cash over other financial assets like equities, low financial literacy and consumer confidence, and complexity of products in a landscape where simple guidance and advice is lacking.

“We want to start a conversation about a real opportunity to motivate young Australians to move excess cash – which offers limited returns compared to equities – off the sidelines and invest prudently into capital markets,” Ms Smith said.

Unlike superannuation, funds in a MyInvestment account could be accessed at any time and used for a variety of purposes, such as building wealth, buying a home, paying school fees, or covering unexpected expenses. MyInvestment is meant to be a flexible, tax-concessional way to save and invest.

Recent data from the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) shows young Australians of working age, who generally derive their income from labour, will bear a higher tax burden as the tax base narrows. This highlights the need for solutions that address intergenerational fairness and eases the heavy tax burden on young Australians as they embark on their wealth accumulation years^[2].

Modelling prepared by NMG Consulting on behalf of Vanguard projects someone who invests $20,000 per year for 10 years were projected to be $40,000^[3] better off under this regime versus keeping their money in cash.

Proposed features of MyInvestment accounts include:

• Annual contributions: $20,000 annual contribution limit with investments to be made in listed asset classes including equities, fixed income, and property – ensuring the incentive is targeted to the right cohorts of Australians and invests in safe, stable and liquid assets.
• Tax incentivisation: To motivate more Australians to invest, the capital gains and distributions in the vehicle could be tax concessional after 24 months for investors.
• Age eligibility: To ensure this vehicle is directly supporting younger generations to start investing earlier, these accounts could be age gated for Australians 45 years and under.
• Industry access: The vehicle would be accessible to approved financial institutions who offer suitable investment choices.

———–

Notes:
[1] Data is based on a nationally representative sample of over 1,200 Australians aged 18 years and over in April 2025. The survey sample was based on quotas set on gender, age and location. Data weighted to ABS Census population statistics on age, gender, location and occupation.
[2] Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) (2025). 2025-26 Medium-Term Budget Outlook: Beyond the Budget. https://www.pbo.gov.au/publications-and-data/publications/2025-26-Medium-term-budget-outlook [pbo.gov.au]
[3] The assumption of this $40,000 outcome is calculated based on an annual contribution of $20,000 over 10 years, invested in a 60/40 Balanced portfolio made up of 60% shares and 40% fixed income, with asset-level expected returns per annum of 3.2% for cash, 6.4% for direct ETFs and 4.3% for bonds.

The post Vanguard proposes solution for young Australians priced out of traditional avenues to build wealth appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Renae Smith

Life insurer AIA Australia has launched the next phase of its plans to change the way people think about and engage with life insurance through the relaunch of its website – aia.com.au.

Following an extensive review of the company’s digital presence by global design and strategy firm Frog, AIA Australia plans to adapt to the latest advancements in digital technology, data and design and become more customer-centric.

As a part of the review, focus groups were held across Australia to provide feedback on how to improve the relevance of life insurance, which has traditionally been a complex and confusing category, when researching the subject online. A key outcome of this effort was the identification of the need for insurers to personalise their products, and to make much greater use of storytelling to explain the connection between them and their customers, and to make the value of life insurance offerings more clear.

AIA Australia’s Chief Marketing Officer, Renae Smith, said improving the way customers relate to life insurance is vital to ensure relevance of the product category in future.

“We know through extensive research that people aren’t engaged by the subject of life insurance and, perhaps previously, accepted that this might always be the case. We’ve traditionally been more product and technology-focused, as opposed to starting from the point of view of the customer. What we’re seeing now is that if we can create a more personal and relatable connection to our products and services that appeals to peoples’ aspirations rather than fears, and in a simple way, we can turn traditional perceptions around in a very compelling fashion.

“Of course, people want access to information quickly and via any device, but if we don’t appeal to them on an emotional level, we won’t be successful in changing perceptions around life insurance. Underinsurance costs the Australian government over $1.5 billion per year, so we have a huge opportunity and a strong imperative to change this situation.”

Some of the main changes to AIA Australia’s website include a simplification of products and services, access via all mobile devices and tablets, and a semantic search function to enable customers to find answers to question based on meaning, not just keyword matches.

The launch of aia.com.au is one element of AIA Australia’s move to being more customer-led in 2016, which also includes the new mobile application for AIA Vitality, the company’s ground-breaking and science backed wellness program. Linked with fitness devices and a mobile application, the program is prompting a step-change in the level of engagement between life insurance and customers.

The post AIA Australia makes digital investment to improve customer engagement with life insurance appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Ms Smith has over 18 years’ experience in marketing related disciplines at some of Australia’s largest organisations, and joins AIA Australia from GE Capital A&NZ as its Head of Marketing & Portfolio Management.

Prior to GE Capital, Renae held a number of senior marketing roles at Telstra, including Director of Segment Marketing, General Manager Products, Applications & Packaging and General Manager Relationship Marketing.  She also previously worked at World Vision Australia and Sharinga Networks in the USA and Australia.

As Chief Marketing Officer, Renae will lead a team of 41 people across a number of business areas including AIA Vitality, retail pricing and product development, and marketing.

AIA Australia’s Chief Executive Officer Damien Mu said the appointment comes at an ideal time for the business as it continues its growth trajectory in the Australian life insurance market.

“Renae joins us at an exciting time as we seek to build on our position as one of the fastest growing life insurers in Australia. Her extensive marketing experience will be crucial for us as we continue to expand our market presence and develop new products and services that meet the needs of our customers and partners,” he said.

Ms Smith will commence her appointment with AIA Australia on 11 February.

The post AIA Australia recruits new Chief Marketing Officer appeared first on AdviserVoice.