• •   What if I live too long? Living Well in Retirement
• •   CASE STUDY: Telstra Super uses Acurity and Global 360 Solution
• •   Product Updates - Acurity Insight and wealthsense
• •   The Final Word
• •   Contact Us

Welcome to the relaunch of the Financial Synergy corporate newsletter, Synopsis, designed to provide you with a quarterly update of what is happening at Financial Synergy, and throughout the superannuation industry.

The year has passed by quickly and newly appointed Group General Manager; Phillip Campbell has settled into his new role and is focused on driving Financial Synergy to achieve long-term success through his commitment to excellence.

This is an exciting time for Financial Synergy and Phil’s leadership is inspiring our team to continue to provide the quality service, innovation and commitment that you’ve come to expect from us, to achieve growth and long-term profitability. As a direct result, there are a range of new products and services about to be launched that are testament of our team’s hard work.

I look forward to sharing our stories with you in Synopsis each quarter.
Till next time,

David Orford
Chairman

By David Orford

The major superannuation related issues currently facing the Australian population include:
• adequacy of retirement benefits
• protecting income post retirement – need income maintained in real terms for life
• how to get really independent financial planning advice
• cost of health care post retirement

Due to the rapid increases in life expectancy since World War Two, we can now all expect to live longer. But what if I live too long? Projections show that if the rate of increased life expectancy continues at this pace, women could expect to live, on average, to age 90 and men age 85 in just another 20 years. The proportion of people aged 65 and over in Australia is projected to rise to 22% in 2049, compared with around 13% today, and 8% in 1969, which accounts for the shift in people’s thinking from “What if I die too early?” to “What if I live too long?”

The dilemma for many people is when to retire. Should I retire now but on a lower income? Should I keep working and retire later? Should I save more?

Click here to read more >>>

The Global Financial Crisis and superannuation member communications seem an unlikely match at first glance, but industry leaders have acknowledged an increasing trend of members whose attention has turned to their superannuation thanks to the GFC.

This sudden rise in interest has provided funds with the opportunity to recognise the overpowering need to communicate more effectively to members through new and existing channels. The rise of social media as a way to talk and engage effectively with members also means that there has never been a better time to achieve greater engagement with members online.

Click here to read more >>>

Telstra Super, Australia’s largest corporate superannuation fund and longstanding Acurity client consistently use best practice processes and cutting edge technology solutions to administer their funds effectively. The Fund recognised the need for an advanced process and workflow management system that would streamline the handling and processing of the vast amount of information and communications it deals with on a daily basis to improve customer service levels.

To achieve its improved operational efficiency and member service objectives, Telstra Super now utilises an integrated solution which includes Financial Synergy’s Acurity fund administration solution and Global 360’s process, document and workflow management systems.
Telstra Super has reaped an array of efficiency, cost reduction and customer service level benefits from its integrated Global 360 and Acurity solution. This is under-scored by its above standard performance against key industry indicators relating to member leakage and member capture.

To read more about Telstra Super’s benefits including unprecedented operational efficiency, accountability and flexibility in the delivery of a broad range of financial services request a copy of the complete case study report by emailing info@financialsynergy.com.au

Recent studies have shown that one in two Australians do not have the skills they need to make informed choices in their interactions with the financial services sector. Part of the solution is education and access to low-cost, effective, advice and Financial Synergy’s wealthsense is an ideal solution to provide easily accessible information online.

wealthsense provides online information for users to access before they meet with a financial planner and empowers users to learn and make decisions at their own pace. Using educational material, calculators, tutorials and personalisation tools, wealthsense can provide users with a low-cost solution and assist them in enhancing their financial future.
For more information email wealthsense@financialsynergy.com.au

Acurity Insight™ is a fully integrated business intelligence (BI) module that provides a fast, user-friendly way to enhance Acurity’s reporting capability. Launched at the recent ASFA Conference in Melbourne, this product was very popular with fund marketers, Trustees, administrators and senior executives who need to access critical information in an easy to read format.

Acurity Insight™ is an out-of-the-box solution to enable a rapid development of reports and dashboards. Users can easily design interactive reports, using the drag-and-drop interface, simply by dragging data fields onto a blank page, enabling them to quickly visualise information by creating a wide array of charts.

This greatly reduced lead time to develop and change reports empowers business users and is achievable as a result of the out-of-the-box reporting, dashboards, collaboration and security framework.

For more information about how Acurity Insight™ can enable decision makers to access critical reports in real-time saving time and money email rohan.lyon@financialsynergy.com.au

Financial Synergy was proud to once again be a supporting partner of the ASFA 2009 National Conference and Super Expo that was held in Melbourne last month.

The premier superannuation industry event of the year, the conference was attended by over 1,500 delegates and included discussions on financial literacy, online engagement of members, the overall affect of the GFC on members and what needs to be done to ensure a world class retirement savings and income system.

The closing address by Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation, Chris Bowen declared that Australia had a great national savings system but still had opportunity to build a better, more simple system. The Minister believes that the current reviews (Cooper, Henry, Ripoll) will provide more certainty and that there is a need to focus on the future now.

With the conference theme 'Super in the New Age', the future was also the theme of Financial Synergy’s expo booth, showcasing a range of new products and services available to help clients prepare themselves for the future of superannuation.

Congratulations to STEPHEN SEFTON, FIRST SUPER who won a Kodak HD Pocket Video Camera.

Full name: Katia Vanessa Cianchi

Position: Acurity Senior Business Analyst, Development Division

How long have you been with Financial Synergy? 16 months

Brief outline of role: I’m responsible for providing strategic Business Analysis and Project Management services for Acurity, chairing the Legislation Committee and ensuring Acurity is compliant with the latest legislation. I have a very talented and supportive network of staff, across multiple divisions within Financial Synergy that collaborate with me to design and deliver high quality solutions and products that address clients’ business and system needs.

Career highlights: Project Managing Financial Synergy’s Acurity Online Standard Product and previously having set up banks across Asia Pacific.

I can’t get by without: My loving family, friends and a good sense of humour.

Interests/hobbies outside work: Travel, Calligraphy Writing, Painting, Sailing, Tennis, Golf, Charity Fun Runs and Latin American Dancing.

Favourite Meal/Restaurant: The lobster tails with pernod sauce at Rubiras in Sorrento, Victoria. This restaurant has since closed. How I miss this dish!

Favourite Movie: It’s a tie between Amadeus and the Mambo Kings.

Dream travel destinations: Marrakesh (Morocco), Havana (Cuba), Saturnia- Grosseto- Tuscany (Italy) and the Côte d'Azur (France).

One word to describe yourself: Positive.

It has been a very productive year at Financial Synergy and although I have only been here for a short while I am proud of our achievements, commitment to R&D and continuous development of new products and services.

To us it is clear that the need for member education and enhanced engagement through online and mobile channels is gaining momentum in our industry and that the demand for real-time solutions and access to information is ever-increasing. The move from traditional ways of communicating to members will continue, while the industry experiments with tools to make their communications more efficient and user friendly, which is exactly what Financial Synergy is focusing on too. Our innovative products are strengthening their foothold in the industry based on the strong foundations of our Acurity software.

Thank you for supporting Financial Synergy.
We wish you well over the New Year and every success in 2010.

Phillip Campbell
Group General Manager