UniSuper took home the honours in the newly created category of Best Advice Offering at the Conexus Financial Superannuation Awards 2017 on Thursday, March 9.
The Best Advice Offering category was launched this year, to celebrate the fund that provided the highest quality of general and personal advice.
The $57.5 billion super fund for higher education workers also won Best Insurance Offering, another new category in 2017, as well as Default Fund of the Year and the coveted gong for Fund of the Year.
“UniSuper demonstrated a clear commitment to offering all levels of advice to members, and has held individual discussions with 31,577 members, including nearly 10,000 face to face discussions,” award judge and former chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services Bernie Ripoll said.
Ripoll noted that in the 2015-16 financial year, UniSuper issued 3300 Statements of Advice, and he praised the fund’s pure fee-for-service model.
UniSuper executive manager, advice and employer relationships, Jack McCartney, said the full private client model that allowed the fund to advise members about 21 other super funds, wraps and insurance, was a sophisticated offering.
He added the fund planned to keep expanding its advice offering.
“We will be opening more offices and expanding the model,” he said.
“We do plan to work with third-party advisers as well. We are a professional practice with the FPA – the first fund of our type to become one of those – so we have very high professional standards, and that’s where ASIC wants us to go to.”
McCartney said he he considered himself lucky to be backed and resourced by the board and management team ever since he joined the fund in February 2014.
“We’ve had amazing results: the team has grown exponentially, our retention levels are through the roof and members’ net promoter scores are as well. They can see the results we are achieving, so they are giving us more resources. It is a virtuous circle. It’s been quite amazing!”
The other finalists in the Best Insurance Offering category were Energy Super, QSuper and SunSuper.
Complete coverage
View the full list of winners across all 12 categories here.
Click here for interviews with the winners of each award.
Click here for pictures from the event.
More than $86,000 was raised for the Conexus Financial Superannuation Awards 2017 charity partner The Wayside Chapel at the gala dinner to announce the winners in Sydney on March 9. To donate to Wayside click here.
