SMSF Awards: Showcasing Advice Platform and Insurance Provider winners
SMSF Adviser has announced the winners of the SMSF Advice Platform and Insurance Provider in this year’s SMSF Awards.
In the second round of category showcases for the 2021 SMSF Awards, SMSF Adviser can reveal that AUSIEX has won the award for SMSF Advice Platform of the Year, while BT has won the Best Insurance Provider category. Further showcases of the award winners will be announced across the week.
SMSF Awards 2021
It has been another changing year for the SMSF sector as it moves past the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic last year and the resulting economic downturn.
This year has been a time of change for many in the SMSF sector, as super contribution thresholds change and a new era begins for the industry with the implementation of the auditor independence standards.
Superannuation has also seen greater focus on retirement outcomes as highlighted in this year’s array of federal budget changes. Furthermore, the ATO and the SMSF sector have continued to work tirelessly together to address some of the unforeseen issues arising from the current environment.
As always, SMSF professionals and their clients have relied heavily on SMSF service providers to guide them through this period of change. Partnering with firms that are adaptable and agile is critical at the moment and has a direct impact on the confidence and satisfaction of clients.
Now in its eighth year, the SMSF Awards recognises the excellence and innovation of the best-performing operators servicing SMSF professionals. The winners are based on a survey which was distributed to SMSF Adviser’s database of SMSF professionals. The results were collated and determined by an independent analyst.
SMSF INSURANCE PROVIDER WINNER: BT
Highly commended: AIA Australia
Insurance is an important part of superannuation, particularly with the requirements for SMSF trustees to consider their insurance needs on an annual basis. SMSFs tend to have more specific needs in terms of insurance, so it is important insurance providers are able to offer products that can be tailored to the specific circumstances of SMSF clients. This year’s winner, BT, had launched its BT Protection Plans which have been available to SMSFs since 2007, and has constantly refined and developed its products across the years to service SMSF professionals and their clients.
Rob Daly, Managing Director – Insurance, BT
Being named the Best SMSF Insurance Provider for 2021 is a wonderful testament to the investment we’ve made into BT Protection Plans, which have been available to SMSF investors since 2007.
We focus on having the best — product choice, service quality and claims processing. We’ve worked to develop a product that offers a wide variety of insurance options to cover a broad range of customer needs.
Good policy design maximises the amount of cover that can be held inside the fund, while allowing the flexibility of more benefits linked outside the fund. BT offers Life, TPD and Income Protection inside an SMSF, with the ability to link to Trauma, Needlestick and Child Cover outside the fund. We also offer super-linked TPD and Income Protection, which split the cover inside and outside super, so we’ve got all bases covered.
We’ve refined our claims process over time, to the extent that it’s so streamlined, with selected income protection and living insurance claims, we can often assess a claim while someone is on the phone, completely eliminating the need for forms and signatures. This can assist claimants at what can be a particularly stressful time.
This award is especially important to us because it’s based on the experiences of SMSF professionals who use our product day in, day out. We use their feedback to inform our product development and improve our service delivery, so it’s extremely exciting to be voted their first choice for insurance.
SMSF ADVICE PLATFORM PROVIDER: AUSIEX
Highly commended: Macquarie Wrap
With many working remotely in the current environment, finding an efficient digital solution for managing portfolios and advice documentation is incredibly important. Previously CommSec Advisor Services, AUSIEX, the winner of this year’s award, says with the transformation to its new brand begins a new exciting future for its offering, continuing to provide deep expertise and trading solutions that support the needs of advisers while providing an exceptional platform service.
Andrew Stewart , head of product and distribution, AUSIEX
We are so pleased to have won the award for Platform Providers in this year’s SMSF Awards.
Although we have recently taken on the AUSIEX brand name since our acquisition by Nomura Research Institute (NRI) in early May this year, since 1994 we have combined our deep expertise with trusted and reliable technology to deliver trading solutions for financial intermediaries.
We work across all segments of the wholesale market and we believe we bring this breadth of experience to benefit every one of our clients. We support advisers with products, services and the platform to help provide trading solutions to Australian investors.
Our in-depth knowledge of the intermediary market and the challenges advisers face we think puts us in the perfect position to be able to support their needs, and we’re humbled that this has been recognised through this award.
AUSIEX, now backed by a global trading technology powerhouse, has exciting future plans to improve our offering so that we can continue to support our clients grow the wealth of Australians.
Tony Zhang
Tony Zhang is a journalist at Accountants Daily, which is the leading source of news, strategy and educational content for professionals working in the accounting sector.
Since joining the Momentum Media team in 2020, Tony has written for a range of its publications including Lawyers Weekly, Adviser Innovation, ifa and SMSF Adviser. He has been full-time on Accountants Daily since September 2021.
SUBSCRIBE TO THE
SMSF ADVISER BULLETIN
Get the latest news and opinions delivered to your inbox each morning
