Industry Fund Services (IFS) today announced a partnership with BCG X – the tech build and design unit of the Boston Consulting Group. The two entities have partnered with the aim of bringing together profit-to-member super funds to explore how the sector could work together to transform the way financial education and advice is delivered to help members achieve better retirement outcomes.  

Most Australians do not access any form of financial help from qualified advisers and licensees. As a result, many retire with less money, or spend less in retirement than they could.  After 30 years of compulsory super, Australia has one of the best accumulation retirement systems in the world – but against the backdrop of the Retirement Income Covenant and the incoming wave of Australians entering retirement with super – there is a great deal more that can be done to help them get prepared and live their retirements better.

The industry has been constrained by technology and regulation – but that’s now changing. Recognising this, IFS and BCG X hope to form a consortium of values-aligned super funds to push the sector forward and explore what is possible with today’s technologies and changing regulatory landscape.

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Csaba Baranyai, IFS CEO explains “Our vision is to fundamentally change what is possible in providing retirement education, help and advice to Australians through the trusted source that is their super fund. We can do this through an integrated suite of digital-first, human-supported financial wellbeing services leveraging today’s rapidly evolving technologies and utilising the changing regulatory landscape to help more Australians retire better.

“This work will be research and member-led – rather than trying to fit a member service offer into an existing technology platform. Technology must be shaped by what fund members need, and how they want to interact – not the other way around. This will be a ground-up design specifically catered and created for fund members, and would focus not only on informing and advising, but also on helping nudge and shape member habits and behaviours that will help their retirement outcomes”.

“Currently, many Australians are priced out of getting advice or guidance on their superannuation, or they feel overwhelmed and don’t know where to start. It’s also hard for many to reference whether their super is on track and what to do if they’re not, while many also live with a Fear of Running Out (FORO) which stops them from making optimal draw downs. This strategic partnership looks to address those issues” said David Viljoen, a Managing Director and Partner at BCG X.

The partnership not only combines IFS’ deep experience and capability in the member education and advice space with BCG X’s track record of building new digital businesses and platforms as one of the world’s largest incubators, it also leverages the power of fund collaboration. For 30 years IFS has been a proven vehicle for inter-fund collaboration to achieve more for Australians together than alone. This venture will continue that legacy in a modern way.

Our partner, BCG X, brings a strong track record of building and scaling successful new digital business models andB2C platforms globally and in Australia. BCG X has also designed, built, launched and scaled a number of digital-first, human supported advice services globally, and will contribute significant IP to the effort.

With a preliminary design workshop taking place in late August, there’s still time for interested funds to get involved.