AMP Bank Managing Director Rod Finch said both individual and corporate trustees can now apply for a new SMSF account online, making it a simple and efficient experience.

“We know SMSF trustees, often people with busy lives, really value an online and simple sign up process for the most competitive products, particularly in current times.”

SuperEdge Saver’s interest rate for new clients^[2] is one of the most competitive in the market at 1.70% p.a. variable rate, for six months for up to $1m in savings.  The ongoing variable rate is 0.95% p.a.”

Mr Finch added: “Clients aren’t required to have a linked account with AMP Bank, so they can transfer funds easily between SuperEdge Saver and any external account held by the SMSF.”

“And, making the process even more efficient, is an ability to validate identification online, so for most applicants this means no need to send us copies of passports and trust deeds, eliminating another time-consuming task.”

“This is an important continuation of our ongoing investment in the Bank’s digital capability, allowing us to further strengthen the support and service we offer our clients, as well as our important broker and adviser partners.”

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[1] Canstar 5 Star Rating – Outstanding Value Savings and Transaction Account 2020
[2] Clients who have not held an AMP SuperEdge Saver Account in the past two years will earn a bonus of 0.75% p.a. on top of the AMP SuperEdge Saver Account standard interest rate during the Bonus Period. The Bonus Period begins the first day of the month after the account is opened and is active for six months. The bonus rate is payable on account balances of up to $1 million per customer. The bonus rate and standard interest rate are both variable rates and correct as at 11 June 2020 but subject to change without notice.

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AMP Bank Managing Director Rod Finch said: “We’re facing unprecedented times and we recognise the important role we have to play in supporting our clients through these challenging circumstances.”

AMP Bank’s client support package includes:

• A pause in home loan repayments for three months, with the option to extend for a further three months, for clients who are experiencing ongoing financial challenges as a result of COVID-19
• A range of new fixed rates for our existing owner occupied and investment clients, including a 2.39% p.a. (3.95% p.a. comparison rate*) fixed rate for our 2-year Professional Package Owner Occupier Principal and Interest product
• Fee waivers for home loan clients in financial hardship
• A waiver of the monthly account keeping fee for everyday and savings account holders, from 30 March 2020 until 1 October 2020
• Access to a 1.80% p.a. term deposit rate across all available terms from 6 to 18 months**

For more information clients can call 13 30 30 or visit the AMP website, where clients can access a digital enquiry form for the home loan repayment pause.

AMP Bank is also developing a digital opt-in process, which will make it even easier for clients to access the home loan repayment pause.

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*Comparison rate calculated for a secured loan on a loan amount of $150,000 for a 25-year term. This comparison rate is true only for the examples given and may not include all fees and charges. Different terms, fees or other loan amounts might result in a different comparison rate.
**On deposits of $25,000 to $5,000,000. Information including interest rates is subject to change without notice. Fees and charges may be payable.  Terms and conditions are available at amp.com.au/bankterms or 13 30 30.  It’s important to consider your circumstances and read the relevant terms and conditions before deciding what’s right for you. This information hasn’t taken your circumstances into account.  Any application is subject to AMP Bank’s approval.

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AMP Chief Executive Francesco De Ferrari said the internal combination reflected AMP’s client-led strategy, and followed the decision by Sally Bruce to step down as AMP Bank CEO.

The AMP Australia business will be led by Alex Wade, currently CEO of Australian Wealth Management. Rod Finch, currently Managing Director, Wealth Products and Platforms, has been appointed to take the role of Managing Director, AMP Bank, reporting to Mr Wade, when Ms Bruce steps down on 1 November 2019.

Francesco De Ferrari commented: “The strategy we set out in August is focused on reinventing AMP to be a client-led, simpler and more growth-oriented business. Bringing together our bank and wealth management teams in Australia will drive a more integrated organisation better able to pursue the significant opportunity we see in providing more holistic wealth services for our clients. Closer integration of the businesses was part of our long-term plan, and with Sally’s decision to step down we have been able to accelerate our internal reorganisation.

“Sally has been an outstanding leader for AMP Bank, delivering double-digit earnings growth, through consistent growth in revenue and client numbers, as well as creating a strong and inclusive culture within the bank. She has led the business for just over four years and has decided it is time to transition. I want to thank Sally for her contribution, and particularly for her support to me over the past ten months.”

Sally Bruce said: “I am extremely proud of my time with AMP and what we have delivered at AMP Bank since I joined in 2015. Now is the right time for me to step down and to join my family, who relocated back to Melbourne earlier this year.

“I’m confident I am leaving AMP Bank in the hands of a strong team who will continue to drive the success of the business under AMP’s new strategy.”

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Available through AMP’s MyNorth and North wrap platforms, the real-time modelling allows advisers to test and develop retirement strategies for their clients, factoring in risk profiles, income and capital requirements.

“The Retirement Modelling Tool’s technology makes it easier for advisers to help their clients achieve their retirement goals,” commented Rod Finch, AMP’s Managing Director Wealth Products & Platforms.

“The modelling incorporates the risk profiles and circumstances of clients to produce simple visual timelines which summarise available retirement structures and income streams.

“Centrelink pension payments, account-based pension and annuity structures, together with long-term market risks, are all considered.

“The modelling is a great demonstration of how technology can make the complex simple, and to help in the delivery of great financial advice.

“Continuing to strengthen MyNorth’s technology capabilities is an ongoing focus for AMP,” said Mr Finch.

Key features of the technology include:

• 900 combinations of annuities, account-based pensions and Centrelink income can be compared and modelled
• The ability to run 2,000 scenarios for a specific retirement strategy, projecting different returns taking into account market volatility and sequencing risk
• Retirement strategies can be stress tested, with probabilities of capital and income lasting for desired time frames
• Retirement investment portfolios can be structured, incorporating relevant Centrelink income, and
• Simple visual displays, including charts and timelines, provide advisers with a clear picture of the strategies and comparative outcomes.

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Toby Potter

AMP has strengthened its MyNorth Managed Portfolio proposition, announcing three new initiatives:

• Adding investment managers Zenith Investment Partners and Quilla Consulting to its MyNorth Managed Portfolio range
• Launching a new Partnered Managed Portfolios offer, tailored for advice practices that are seeking to implement a whole-of-portfolio solution, and
• Releasing a new industry whitepaper on managed portfolios in partnership with the Institute of Managed Account Professionals (IMAP).

Rod Finch, AMP’s Managing Director of Wealth Products and Platforms, said: “We’re delighted to announce these new offers and resources for advisers and clients as we continue to strengthen our MyNorth Managed Portfolio proposition.

“Zenith Investment Partners and Quilla Consulting offer high-quality, in-demand portfolios that represent great value for clients, while our partnership with leading advice business, the Weinberg Private Group, has launched our Partnered Managed Portfolios offer. Shifting adviser business models and increased demand for managed portfolios are providing great opportunities for more advice practices to develop investment portfolios specific to the needs of their clients.

“Our new whitepaper – A Guide to Managed Portfolios – which we’ve produced in partnership with Toby Potter and the IMAP team, will also be a valuable resource for any adviser looking to take advantage of the many benefits of managed portfolios.”

Toby Potter, Chair of IMAP, commented: “Managed portfolios are one of fastest-growing investment vehicles in Australia because of the benefits they offer investors, so it’s great for IMAP to partner with AMP to produce this whitepaper.”

AMP’s initiatives follow the fee reductions announced earlier in the year, which are benefiting more than 87,000 new and existing MyNorth clients and families.

MyNorth is one of the most competitive and feature-rich wrap platforms in the Australian market.Zenith Investment Partners and Quilla Consulting

Zenith Investment Partners and Quilla Consulting portfolios are now available through the MyNorth Managed Portfolio proposition, increasing the diversity of the range and the strategies available to clients.

Zenith Investment Partners and Quilla Consulting were approved to the portfolio range following an extensive due diligence process conducted by AMP. This considered issues such as risk, the experience and quality of the individuals, client service records, and investment process, fees and structure.

Partnered Managed Portfolios

Financial advice practices are now able to partner with AMP and the MyNorth platform to create their own Partnered Managed Portfolios. This includes best-of-breed asset consultants to deliver portfolios which are tailored to their preferred strategies and can enable them to deliver a whole-of-portfolio solution.

Advice business, the Weinberg Private Group, is launching its own tailored MyNorth managed portfolio, which has been professionally constructed and managed for the requirements of its clients, with exclusive rights to brand.

Whitepaper

Produced by AMP in partnership with IMAP, A Guide to Managed Portfolios highlights transparency, investment quality and flexibility as key reasons for the significant growth of managed portfolios in recent years. They have now surpassed $62 billion in assets under management (AUM) in the Australian market since broad adoption began in 2010, with growth expected to accelerate over the next three years.

Other insights from the whitepaper include:

• Managed portfolios remove the need for advisers to produce a statement of advice or record of advice for every transaction
• Operational risk is reduced as managed portfolios transactions are generally centrally implemented
• Appointed investment managers typically build a portfolio of assets with reference to the platform’s investment menu
• ‘Ease of trading’ is a key consideration when determining which assets are held in a managed portfolio – term deposits, syndicated managed funds and corporate bonds are often excluded on this basis, and
• Managed portfolios require the responsible entity to issue a product disclosure statement, which must comply with the Corporations Act.

The whitepaper is available here.

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Available across AMP’s market leading wrap platforms, including MyNorth, North, Summit, iAccess, PortfolioCare and WealthView, Advantage Funds provide advisers and their customers with access to 31 leading wholesale managed funds across all major asset classes, at lower ongoing management fees than equivalent wholesale funds.

Rod Finch, AMP’s Director of Super, Retirement and Investments, said the rapid growth and popularity of Advantage Funds with advisers and their customers reflects the quality and diversity of the fund managers, low fees and ease of access on the wrap platforms.

“Feedback from advisers on the fund range has been extremely positive, both in relation to quality of the fund managers, diversity in the asset classes, and access to lower ongoing management fees,” said Mr Finch.

“We want to provide investment solutions which help our customers achieve their retirement goals, providing the strongest possible returns while appropriately managing risk,” he said.

“The fund range is available to new and existing super, pension and investment clients, covering Australian and global equities, fixed interest, property and infrastructure, and alternative investments.”

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Macrovue offers a leading-edge platform to invest in thematic portfolios of global companies. The portfolios are constructed using in-house research, giving Australian investors unprecedented access to international markets.

Natasha has over two decades of experience in the finance sector and a track record for delivering consistent and sustainable results with leading finance and insurance companies. Natasha is CEO of SuperConcepts, one of the largest providers of SMSF administration, software and education services in Australia.  Prior to SuperConcepts, she held a number of high profile executive positions including at Suncorp, as the Executive General Manager for Customer Product & Pricing of the Personal Insurance division.

Rod Finch brings to Macrovue an impressive background in senior leadership roles within the financial services sector. Joining AMP in 2013, Rod is AMP’s Director of Strategic Marketing & Customer Experience.  Prior to AMP, Rod was with Lloyds Banking Group in the UK, where he held a number of senior leadership roles including Group Strategy Director and Director of Customer Value Management.

“Macrovue has built a solution that offers world-class investment expertise to Australian investors through global thematic portfolios. We’re delighted Natasha and Rod have decided to join the board. Both will bring tremendous experience in the financial services sector and fresh vision to Macrovue that will help us grow,” said Sid Sahgal, CEO of Macrovue.

“Macrovue’s innovative approach to thematic investment has it well positioned for growth in an emerging sector of the market, providing consumers and advisers with greater choice and access to markets.  I’m pleased to be joining the board of Macrovue and to play a role in helping to implement its vision” said Rod Finch.

Natasha said, “I‘m looking forward to  working closely with Sid and the team, especially given that SMSF investors are heavily exposed to equity portfolios. As an online investment platform Macrovue makes it easy to invest in both Australian and international shares.”

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