Edwina Maloney

North, one of Australia’s leading retirement and investment platforms, has partnered with estateXchange to provide advisers, beneficiaries and professional representatives with access to a secure, digital solution that simplifies the administration of deceased estates.

Through the partnership, North becomes the first wealth platform in Australia to join the estateXchange network, supporting a more coordinated and efficient way to manage wills, inheritance and estate-related documentation.

estateXchange enables advisers, solicitors, accountants and beneficiaries to upload and share documentation once through a secure digital channel, reducing duplication and improving visibility for all parties involved in managing a deceased client’s affairs.

North’s integration with estateXchange extends its focus on delivering connected, practical technology that supports advisers and their clients across the full lifecycle – from accumulation through to retirement and beyond.

The announcement follows the launch of the North Interactive Wealth Portal in March^[1] and supports North’s existing platform capabilities, supporting a more consistent, secure and coordinated experience for advisers and their clients. It also complements North’s existing work to uplift the estate planning experience.

Improving the experience at a difficult time

According to AMP’s Retirement Confidence Pulse, estate planning and inheritance was the number one topic that Australians under 40 said they wished their parents had spoken to them about before retirement^[2].

In newly-released findings, just half of 2000 Australians surveyed said they have a will^[3] and less than a third of those aged 50 and over have spoken to their kids about inheritance, with many left under-prepared and ill-equipped to manage their estate and affairs, particularly in the event of the death of a family member or loved one.

Administering a deceased estate in Australia can also be complex and time-consuming, often involving multiple organisations and repeated requests for information.

In other new findings, Deloitte Access Economics research shows Australians typically engage with up to 37 different administration and service providers when managing and administering a deceased estate^[3].

The process typically takes between 9 to 12 months to finalise and has a significant emotional impact, with over 4 in 5 Australians reporting their wellbeing suffered due to the lengthy administration process^[2].

At the same time, 9 in 10 Australians surveyed believe the process can be improved^[2], with a strong preference for solutions that reduce duplication, enable faster processing and provide a central platform for dealing with multiple providers.

Reducing complexity and duplication

The partnership introduces a structured digital channel for managing inheritance claims and deceased estate administration, helping to:

• Reduce repeated requests for the same documents across multiple organisations
• Improve visibility of who is involved in a deceased estate matter
• Minimise reliance on email, post and manual processes
• Enable more efficient engagement between North and professional representatives

Edwina Maloney, Group Executive, Platforms at AMP: “Having access to timely financial advice and a more coordinated experience can make all the difference when making sure your estate and affairs are in order.

“For advisers using North, our partnership with estateXchange complements existing North processes and digital servicing, helping advisers better support their clients through key life events, including intergenerational wealth transfer and retirement transitions.

“Today’s announcement is all about making it easier to securely share information, provide clearer communication and bring greater structure to the way deceased estate matters are managed.

“This is about supporting advisers to deliver a better experience for families and beneficiaries, while ensuring North continues to evolve as a platform that supports clients through every stage of their financial journey.”

Sharyn Baker, Director, Operations, Platforms at AMP: “Handling the loss of a loved one is never easy, and the administration that follows can add complexity at a time when people need clarity and support.

“The integration with estateXchange helps streamline how advisers and professional representatives interact with North, giving them a more efficient and transparent way to manage documentation and claims.

“The benefit of estateXchange is that it simplifies document collection and engagement with multiple parties, taking out the friction of what is often a complex and challenging process.

“It underlines North’s commitment to advisers in helping pave the way for a more consistent, digital approach to managing deceased estate administration and related claims, supporting you more effectively in the moments that matter.”

Sarah Poole and Marielle Yeoh, Co-CEOs, estateXchange: “Dealing with a customer’s super, investments and other estate-related assets after death remains too fragmented for families and their advisers. North joining estateXchange is an important step toward a more secure, consistent and connected way to manage these sensitive matters.

“North’s participation reflects the kind of industry leadership needed to modernise how organisations support beneficiaries and their representatives after a client passes away. We’re pleased to welcome North to the estateXchange network and to work together toward a better experience for families, beneficiaries and professionals.”

———

Notes:
[1] https://www.amp.com.au/about-amp/news/2026/march/North-delivers-market-first-portal-for-adviser-efficiency-and-client-engagement
[1] 51% of Australians have a will and only 31% of over 50s have spoken to kids about inheritance. Source: AMP’s Retirement Confidence Pulse 2025
[2] Source: The State of Estates: The case for change in how we manage deceased estates in Australia, Deloitte Access Economics, 18 November 2025

The post North simplifies estate planning and intergenerational wealth transfer with estateXchange partnership appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Sharyn Baker has joined as Director of Operations, with Mike Way appointed earlier this year as Director for Strategy and Transformation. Both roles are newly-created positions in AMP’s Platforms business.

In addition, David Hutchison has been appointed as General Manager of Managed Portfolios and Investments, focusing on partnering with our North advisers to develop market-leading managed portfolio solutions and helping North to continue its trajectory as the fastest-growing managed portfolio business in the market.

Sharyn Baker is an experienced financial services leader with over 20 years of experience in leading and implementing large-scale change, driving innovation and embedding high performing cultures across various organisations including NAB and MLC as well as working in a consulting capacity for several wealth management and Financial Services clients.
She joins AMP after working for BT Financial for the past eight years, where she was most recently Head of Service and Operations. In her new role, Sharyn will be accountable for the end-to-end administration, client servicing, investment operations, third-party relationships, data and risk and compliance functions across Platforms.

David Hutchison is an accomplished professional with over 20 years of experience in product management, investments, and consulting, including senior roles at MLC and NMG Consulting.
In his new role at AMP, he will be responsible for helping advisers run their investment proposition (including Managed Portfolios) efficiently via the North platform, continuing the strong flow and rapid growth of North as a highly competitive platform. David will work closely with the team on further developing and accelerating growth plans for North’s managed portfolio and investment menu business.

Mike Way joined North earlier this year, bringing 25 years’ experience in the financial services industry both in Australia and globally, having delivered numerous large and complex strategic transformations impacting up to 100,000 staff and 20 million customers at a time.

Mike’s most recent role was Strategy Partner at Deloitte, working with Executive teams and Boards to improve organisational performance through growth strategies, digital and data strategy, customer experience design, business and operating model design, and transformation execution. Mike is responsible for delivering on North’s growth aspirations through effective strategy design and transformation delivery.

Edwina Maloney, AMP Group Executive, Platforms said: “I am excited for Sharyn, David and Mike to bolster our bench strength at North, as we continue to drive our strategy and transformation plans with a strong focus on product leadership and client servicing of the highest calibre.

“Part of our Platforms strategy is to bring the right capability into our business that will help us turn strategy into action and drive an agile delivery approach to transformation.

“Our new hires bring broad market experience and are all keenly aware of the strength of our North offer. The next step will be to continue to build on North’s market-competitiveness, extend our adviser footprint and drive greater awareness of North’s leading functionality.

“We have an exciting opportunity to continue to drive innovation through North, differentiating through market-leading retirement solutions like MyNorth Lifetime for both existing and new customers.”

The post North expands operations, product leadership and strategy with new hires appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Sharyn Baker

Australian financial advisers surveyed for BT’s annual Adviser Sentiment Index 2024 have ranked customer service in the top three most important attributes for selecting a platform provider.^[1]

According to the more than 200 advisers who participated in the survey, only safety or security, and trustworthiness are more important than service.

“The Adviser Sentiment Index reflects the feedback we regularly receive from advisers and their clients,” said Sharyn Baker, Head of Service and Operations, BT. “What’s remarkable about this year’s findings is that the attributes that advisers value the most are the less tangible elements of the user experience. Safety, trustworthiness, and customer service rank above other attributes related to products and price. At a time when there are heightened geo-political tensions and market uncertainty, these experiential elements of service are leading advisers’ decision-making.”

BT has recently made a number of tech-enabled customer service enhancements, including a re-engineered pension refresh process.^[2]

“Our service philosophy is based on people taking the lead, with technology enabling improved performance to achieve customer satisfaction,” said Ms Baker. “Financial advice and investing are human activities, and clients’ financial decisions are often driven by emotion and logic. The right advice depends on each client’s circumstances, so human judgment is essential. This goes to the core of the value of advice, the trust that clients place on advisers.”

“As a platform provider, we know that advisers are placing their trust in our people, not just the technology, so we listen to feedback and learn where we can improve to deliver value and maintain a competitive edge,” Ms Baker added.

BT closely monitors adviser sentiment through its annual survey, the BT Adviser Sentiment Index. Survey participants use a range of wealth management platforms, including BT Panorama. The BT Adviser Sentiment Index indicates advisers (over 90% of those surveyed) want to work with wealth management brands that are ‘safe and secure’ and ‘trustworthy and honest’. Customer service ranks third, with the older cohort of advisers (50+ years of age) placing more emphasis on this attribute, relative to younger advisers (under 50 years) (93% vs 85%).

Pension refresh

Based on advisers’ feedback, BT has updated the process for implementing a pension refresh on BT Panorama. Launched in May 2024, the simplified process requires advisers to complete only one form, saving up to 30 minutes per request compared to the previous process. To date, over 1,200 advisers and their support staff have used the new process.

Around $136 billion in Funds Under Administration and 345,500 customer accounts are on BT’s platforms, with 27% of these in pension phase.^[3] A pension refresh strategy is implemented by advisers for clients who are looking to transfer their wealth from superannuation to pension in a tax-effective way, including those who are selling their primary residence and making ‘downsizer’ contributions into super.

Ms Baker said: “We consulted with advisers and their support teams on how we could improve our service delivery on the high volumes of pension refresh requests we receive. Advisers tell us that their service experience is far better than before, since we re-engineered the process.”

In addition, other platform enhancements such as the service request tracker and digital consents are becoming the norm for advisers on BT Panorama, with the majority having used these tools in the 12 months to June 2024. Digital consent data can now be fed into advisers’ connected XPlan software daily. It can also be requested by email or SMS. These changes have been designed to create efficiency for advisers and their support teams.

Service achievements

The BT Contact Centre receives over 20,000 phone contacts a month with an average speed of answer for each call of less than 30 seconds. BT won a Customer Service Institute of Australia award last year and is a finalist again this year.

———

Notes:
[1] BT Adviser Sentiment Index: https://www.bt.com.au/professional/knowledge-centre/business-resources/business-development/bt-adviser-sentiment-index-2024.html
[2] More information on enhancements: https://www.bt.com.au/service.html#:~:text=Pension%20refresh%20made%20easy&text=For%20the%20majority%20of%20pension,to%2030%20minutes%20per%20request
[3] As of 30 June 2024.

The post Service emerges as key differentiator for platforms, according to BT Adviser Sentiment Index 2024 appeared first on AdviserVoice.