Self Managed Super Funds

Investor Report

This report will give you an extensive range of valuable insights, including:

• Market size and growth
• The drivers, experience and difficulties of running a SMSF
• Investment, investment strategies
• Current, recent and future investments
• Interest in gearing within super
• Use of managed funds, structured products and ETFs
• Share trading
• Investment platforms
• Dealing with advisers and product suppliers
• Which advisers are SMSF investors using more of, less of, why, satisfaction by adviser type,
• Fees paid by adviser type
• Unmet advice needs, what SMSF investors would pay to fulfil their unmet advice needs.
• Media usage
• SMSF member profile

Accountant Report

This report will give you an extensive range of valuable insights, including:

• Views on proposed regulatory reforms
• Anticipated growth in SMSF market
• % who advise on SMSFs, and % of total revenue from SMSFs and how this is changing over time
• Establishment and servicing of SMSFs
• Reasons for establishing SMSFs
• Who is driving SMSF establishment? (client/ planner/ accountant)
• Who provides/ services different aspects of the SMSF process
• Relationships with planners
• Functions performed by accountant compared to functions outsourced
• Barriers and challenges when servicing the SMSF market
• Fees charged by accountants and amounts paid on to other service providers
• Functions accountants would like to outsource but currently don’t/ can’t, including how much they would pay for this unmet need and what do these accountants look like
• Investment strategies, goals and behaviour – What products do accountants favour for their SMSF clients and their extent of influence
• View on investment platforms and problems encountered
• Borrowing within SMSF – Current adoption, interest level and desired product attributes
• Software used
• Administrators used and what accountants look for when selecting an SMSF administration service

Planner Report

This report will give you an extensive range of valuable insights, including:

• SMSF market size and growth
• Impact of recent government regulations to ban commissions on planner businesses
• Charging structures: Asset based versus annual fees
• Planner attitudes to SMSFs
• SMSF usage: Where SMSFs fit into planners’ business
• Level of engagement with SMSFs
• % of practice revenue currently derived from SMSFs and expected level in 3 years
• Barriers preventing planners from advising on SMSFs
• Biggest challenges for planners when servicing the SMSF market
• Investment strategies, goals and behaviour for SMSF clients
• Products used/ needed
• Borrowing within super: Interest level and desired product attributes
• Use of and features needed from investment platforms
• Establishing and servicing of SMSFs
• Who provides/services different aspects of the SMSF process
• Functions performed by planner and those outsourced
• What planners look for when selecting an SMSF administration service
• Profiling of SMSF specialists and generalists.

Planner Technology

Planner Technology Report

This Report tracks the usage of technology (investment platforms and planning software) by financial planners and. The Report includes:

• Primary and secondary market shares
• Satisfaction with current offerings
• Statistical analysis to determine the ultimate drivers of overall adviser satisfaction
• Benchmarking of strengths and weaknesses of each major provider
• Gap analysis at an industry level: What are the current opportunities and unmet needs?
• Current priorities in terms of selection behaviour and desired improvements

Platform Report

This Report will help you:

• Independently benchmark your platform against competitors across all key aspects of adviser functionality.
• Assess which platforms are leading the industry in functions and features most important to financial planners.
• Evaluate if platform functionality across the industry has improved since 2006 and which platforms are improving their offerings faster than others.
• Determine how wide the functionality gaps are between Full Function Platforms and Standard Platforms.
• Prioritise spending on technology and process improvements to maximise return on investment from finite resources.

Planning Software Report

This Report will help you:

• Independently benchmark your financial planning software against competitors across all key aspects of advice functionality
• Assess which financial planning software is leading the industry in functions and features most important to financial planners
• Evaluate how financial planning software functionality across the industry has improved since 2006 and which financial planning software providers are improving their offerings faster than others
• Prioritise spending on technology and process improvements to maximise return on investment from finite resources

Other Planner Reports

Planner Business Model Report

This Report provides an in-depth analysis of how, and which planners are affected by the reforms, including detailed analysis of where the industry is up to around remuneration:

• Largest challenges posed by bans on commission and proposed FOFA reforms
• Effects of reforms on clients serviced, types of advice provided, use of platforms, business profitability, fees charged, planners’ future in industry, business strategy, value of business/client book
• Planners’ understanding of fiduciary duty
• Client opt-ins:
• Level of concern
• Which clients they will focus on ensuring opt-in
• % of active and passive clients expected to opt-in
• Change to value proposition to ensure opt-in
• Where/ who planners expect support from to implement reforms
• Remuneration
• % of current and expected revenue from different fee types
• How planners prefer to collect fees
• Cost of providing advice, and how this cost is calculated
• Cost of maintaining a client
• % of clients that cover breakeven cost
• Dealer group
• NPS
• Where planners need more help
• Intention to leave and why
• If and why they changed dealer groups in the last 12 months

Adviser Product and Marketing Needs Report

This Report provides a detailed picture of planner appetite for investment products. It covers:

• Impact of market volatility on financial advisers
• Financial adviser attitude towards international investments
• Where and how exposure should be obtained
• Choice in fund managers when obtaining exposure
• Analysis of alternative investments
• Trends in the allocation of funds for various alternatives
• Most important factors influencing choice of alternatives provider
• The current and future market for ETFs
• Benefits, problems and barriers
• Preferred way of investing into ETFs
• Unmet demand for ETFs
• Opinions on ETF pricing
• Brands which advisers would invest with should they begin managing ETFs
• The current and future market for capital guaranteed/ structured products
• Opinions on best structured product available, and other products that should be capital guaranteed
• Problems with, and barriers to, using structured products
• Optimal capital guarantee structure and premium
• Where fund managers stand
• Market share and rating of fund managers
• Importance of communication and how to optimise it
• Brand association of fund managers across 10 key brand attributes
• Alternatives and platforms
• Adviser usage of research

Planner Risk

This report provides a detailed picture of adviser appetite for risk products as well as how platform and software providers can improve their offering. It covers:

Advisers

• How advisers write risk
• Currently and in the future
• Across product and software providers – directly with life insurers, specialist risk software, main platform, other platform, planning software or specialist risk platform
• Anticipated growth in risk advice
• Contribution of risk to overall practice revenue

Product Providers

• Adviser criteria for current risk insurer selection
• Capabilities considered most important.
• Adviser ratings of life insurer across over 40 key metrics.
• Statistical analysis of drivers of satisfaction and industry gaps
• Net Promoter Score (NPS) of life insurers
• Future enhancements sought from risk product providers

Risk Software

• Adviser criteria for current risk software selection
• Adviser ratings of risk software applications across 8 key attributes
• Statistical analysis of drivers of satisfaction and current industry gaps and opportunities
• Future enhancements sought from planning/ risk software application – What advisers want planning/ risk software applications to do to help them write more risk.

Platforms

• Adviser criteria for current insurance selection on investment platform
• Demand for risk enhancements on platform compared to overall platform improvements sought
• Adviser ratings of life insurance capabilities on platform across 10+ key attributes
• Future enhancements sought from investment platforms – What advisers want platform providers to do to help them write more risk.”

Planner Direct Equities & SMA Report

The Planner Direct Equities (& SMA) Report replaces the old SMA: Planner Report. SMA usage is now examined in the broader context of how planners currently handle direct equities, and how they would prefer to do so. The Report covers:

• Planner involvement with direct shares
• Proportion of FUA invested in direct equities
• Drivers and barriers to usage
• Approach to direct share investments
• Preference for the use of margin lending to gear into direct equities
• Preference for model portfolios vs individually selected stocks
• Platform usage
• Preference for on/ off platform placement
• Barriers to usage
• Separately managed accounts (SMAs)
• Perceived benefits of using SMAs
• Barriers to usage

Retirement Needs

Retirement Income Report

To aim of the Report is to quantify how well Australians (accumulators and pre retirees) are prepared for retirement. It includes:

• Main super provider and views towards them (NPS rating)
• Extent to which super will fund retirement vs other investments
• Impact of market volatility and budget super changes
• Dependence on Age Pension
• Types of income stream chosen and why.
• Future income planning
• Product awareness
• Demand for new products that protect retirement income against market risk and longevity
• When do investors contemplate retirement advice? Where and from whom?
• Rating of planners across 10 key attributes, and most useful contribution to retirement plans
• Gaps/ needs going forward
• How they’d prefer to pay for advice ongoing

Retirement Planner Report

The Report will give you valuable insights into :

• How planners think about their clients’ retirement strategies
• Planner’s product needs
• What they want from capital protected products, income guaranteed products, term deposits, etc.
• What support they want from product providers
• Product provider use (current and future) and brand perceptions
• How they service their retirees/ pre retiree clients
• How this part of their client book is changing and how this effects their overall business
• Investment and draw-down strategies used for these clients
• Variation in product needs between two groups/during TTR.

Investor Needs

High Net Worth Investor Report

The most comprehensive analysis of the HNW market currently available, based on extensive research of over 1,600 HNW investors, covering:

• How HNW investors view the current crisis
• How their views and, more importantly their actions are changing
• The types of investments they are likely to make in the future
• Their satisfaction with their advisers and the areas where they want more guidance
• Which media most impact their decision making
• The importance of brand
• How financial services professionals need to adapt to survive

Investor Product Needs Report

This Report will help you gain a better understanding of investor demand for alternative investments and their decision making process, including:

• Attitudes and approach toward different alternative investment products
• How products are researched
• Channel issues and key influencers
• Triggers for investing by product
• The differences and relationships between various alternative investment categories
• Adviser relationships and inter-relationships
• Investment strategies, goals and behaviour

Investor Sentiment and Communications Report

The goal of this Report is to help product providers understand:

• Investor sentiment in the current volatile markets and how this has changed from the height of the GFC
• What investors are expecting from their product providers
• Which communications messages are resonating with them (and which are not)
• Which providers they feel are doing a good/bad job and why
• Where are the gaps
• What do we, as an industry need to do to increase loyalty, trust and retention amongst investors

Limited Advice and Intra Fund Advice Report

This Report focuses on the advice needs of Australians in order to help product and service providers optimise their advice offering to investors.

• Current market for financial advice
• Proportion of Australians currently receiving advice
• Providers used, strengths and weaknesses
• Type of advice they are getting, how they are receiving it, and preferred way to receive it
• How much investors are paying for advice, and how
• Experience with intra-fund advice
• Type of advice sought
• How useful was it?
• How much did they pay for it?
• Upcoming demand for financial advice (including limited/ intra fund advice)
• Catalysts for seeking financial advice
• Perceived value of financial advice
• Factors that would increase the likelihood of investors seeking advice
• Investors most likely to be seeking advice, their profile and optimal ways to source them
• Which areas they need the most advice, and how they would like to receive advice
• Who should be providing the advice, how they’d like to pay for it, and how much
• Does the above differ between limited/ intra fund advice and full advice?

Product Reports

Capital Protected Products Report

The Report will give you valuable insights into investor and planner demand for and usage of CPP, including desired product attributes, motivations for investment and views/ perceptions of related fund managers. Research coverage includes:

• Investors & CPP:
• How has appetite/ usage of CPP changed over last 3 years
• Which investor segments is future growth concentrated in
• What does broader investment strategy of these investors look like
• Key drivers to usage/ take up
• Perceived benefits, problems encountered, barriers
• Key channels & advisers that influence usage
• Opinions on optimal pricing structure, form of cap protection preferred, importance of yield vs capital gains, intended holding period, return expectations, appetite for gearing
• Fund managers currently used for CPP/ considering investing with
• Full brand analysis by manager.
• Planners & CPP
• How has appetite/ usage of CPP changed, relative to other product types
• Which planner segments is future growth concentrated in
• Which clients do planners recommend CPP to (e.g. retirees, HNWs, SMSFs, accumulators, etc.)
• Form of cap. protection preferred amongst existing users vs next wave
• Perceived benefits, barriers to usage, problems encountered
• Opinions on optimal pricing structure
• CPP products currently used / considering investing with
• Full brand analysis by manager.

Exchange Traded Funds Report

The Report will give you valuable insights into demand for and usage of ETFs, including desired product attributes, motivations for investment and views/ perceptions of related fund managers. Research coverage includes:

• Investors & ETFs:
• How has appetite/ usage of ETFs changed over last 3 years
• Which investor segments is future growth concentrated in, and what does broader investment strategy of these investors look like
• Key drivers to usage/ take up, and perceived benefits, problems encountered, barriers
• Key channels & advisers that influence usage
• Optimal pricing structure, importance of yield vs capital gains, intended holding period, return expectations, appetite for gearing
• Fund managers currently used for ETFs/ considering investing with
• Full brand analysis by manager.
• Planners & ETFs:
• How has appetite/ usage of ETFs changed relative to other product types
• Which planner segments is future growth concentrated in
• Perceived benefits, barriers to usage, problems encountered
• Opinions on optimal pricing structure, gaps in products currently available
• Preference for investing on/ off platform.

Warrants Report

The Report will give you valuable insights into demand for and usage of various types of warrants, motivations for investment and views/ perceptions of related product manufacturers. Research coverage includes:

• Investors & Warrants:
• Investor appetite & growth in usage of warrants over the last 3 years and how this compares to other alternative products
• Which investor segments is future growth concentrated in, and what does the broader investment strategy of investors look like
• Key drivers to usage/ take up, and perceived benefits of warrants
• Key channels and advisers that influence usage
• Perception of instalment pricing, i.e. how well does instalment pricing reflect the underlying assets
• Product manufacturers currently used for warrants/ considering investing with
• Brand analysis by product manufacturer including perceptions of manufacturers as innovative vs. leader vs. customer focused
• Planners & Warrants:
• How has appetite/ usage of warrants changed, relative to other alternative investments, products more broadly and asset classes
• Which planner segments is future growth concentrated in.

Margin Lending

Investor Report

This Report examines investor usage of margin lending to determine key factors in acquisition, satisfaction and churn.
It covers:

• Market share and dynamics
• Perceived benefits and barriers to margin lending
• Market share by channel, conversion rates, competitive positioning of margin lenders by client type
• Acquisition: drivers of lender selection, changes in selection drivers over time, role of advisers in lender selection
• Churn and retention: levels and drivers of churn, proportion of lost clients relative to share in recent inflows.
• Incidence of margin calls, channels used, satisfaction with handling, action taken after call.
• Brand awareness and positioning
• Drivers of overall satisfaction across 27 key metrics, industry gap analysis, industry league tables
• Differences between current and prospective margin lending clients

Broker Report

This Report examines the distribution of margin loans via the financial broker channel covering:

• Perceived value and anticipated growth of asset classes
• Expected movement of interest rates in asset classes
• Drivers to increase and decrease gearing
• Total incidence and level of borrowing across gearing products
• Preferred forms of gearing overall and for specific types of clients
• Information clients receive about margin lending from planners
• Current proportion of borrowings going to managed funds versus shares and other investments
• Barriers and catalysts to further margin lending usage
• Market share and positioning
• Brands, product selection criteria and satisfaction levels.
• Drivers of loan selection

Planner Report

This Report examines the distribution of margin loans via the financial planner channel covering:

• Perceived value and anticipated growth of asset classes
• Drivers to increase and decrease gearing
• Total incidence and level of borrowing across gearing products
• Preferred forms of gearing overall and for specific types of clients
• Information clients receive about margin lending from planners
• Current proportion of borrowings going to managed funds versus shares and other investments
• Barriers and catalysts to further margin lending usage
• Market share and positioning
• Brands, product selection criteria and satisfaction levels.
• Perceived benefits of margin lending
• Drivers of loan selection

International

Trading Behaviour Suite (see below)

Trading Behaviour Suite

UK Adviser Technology and Business Report

This Report examines current trends among IFAs with respect to their platform usage and business processes. Report coverage includes:
Investment platforms

• Platform market dynamics
• Platform market shares, including overlaps and inter relationships
• Brand positioning of platform providers
• Drivers of platform selection, both
• At industry level, e.g. factors that drive an adviser’s decision to use their chosen platform
• At individual provider level, e.g. why an adviser would choose to use Transact vs Skandia vs Funds Network as their primary/ secondary platform provider
• Factors that drive satisfaction and retention,
• What product/ service features are particularly important in driving satisfaction and retention
• How happy advisers are with each provider across over 30+ service elements
• Strengths and weaknesses, by platform
• Desired improvements/ gaps, by platform

Adviser business models

• Key issues they are dealing with on behalf of their clients & within their own businesses
• Views on how the Retail Distribution Review will affect the way advisers do business
• Current adviser fee/commission basis, preferences and outlook for 3 years time
• Estimated cost of providing advice
• Adviser use of technology
• Investment selection
• Products currently advised on
• Strategies/ approaches which are currently a part of investment process
• Research and media usage, i.e. where do advisers go for information to support and inform their advice
• Where possible, we have benchmarked against equivalent metrics from our research on the Australian platform market to help you understand trends globally.