New Online Real-time Service Gives Greater Control Of Superannuation

MEDIA INFORMATION

CALL TO END 'SET & FORGET' SUPERANNUATION

New Online Service Gives Australians Greater Control of their Superannuation

Monitormysuper.com.au (http://www.monitormysuper.com.au/) provides a timely and real-time service for Australian investors concerned for their super.

This new online superannuation monitoring service, launched this week, prompts investors to take more control of their super and to actively avoid the old 'set & forget' approach.

The global financial crisis has seen the superannuation 'nest eggs' of many Australians seriously eroded. For many it's been a real wake-up call. They are demanding to know a lot more about the status of their super than previously; at the same time they want more control.

Transparency of investments how is your super fund performing right now? CEO and founder of Monitormysuper.com.au, Mr Peter Morrison-Dowd, believes that the old 'set and forget' approach to super investing was dangerously 'hands-off'.

Monitormysuper is a new online service that can keep investors informed in a time frame of their choice as to how their superannuation is performing.

"Rather than outdated 'advice' letters once or twice a year, Monitormysuper allows the investor to define precisely when they get important advice about their super," he said.

How it works
Monitormysuper covers 14,000 Australian-operated retail super funds that, collectively, have 10 million members. It works like this:

*Investors set a +/- percentage threshold relating to the movement in their super fund.

*The moment this nominated threshold is breached (e.g. it drops by 15%), the investor and their financial planner are alerted immediately via email and/or mobile phone (SMS).

*The investor and their planner can then quickly assess the situation and gauge whether a change in strategy is required, in line with their personal 'Investment Risk Profile'.

Mr Morrison-Dowd said, "For example, if the percentage movement threshold they choose is say, 15%, then whenever their fund or funds fluctuates by that margin they will be immediately advised. That might be weekly, monthly or daily. The big difference is: If it happens, they'll know about it straight away: not months later by snail mail.

"Simply, Monitormysuper is proactively informative. Once an investor's mood and appetite for risk is profiled, this service then monitors the performance of their super fund or funds. It provides an immediate, real-time snapshot of their financial nest egg as required.

"The benefit for super fund members is that it puts them in an informed position from which they can choose to focus promptly on their investment strategies in line with economic conditions and in consultation with their planner.

"We can now avoid the traditional 'super information vacuum'. The best way to instil confidence in super is to ensure people know what's happening. An informed super member is an active super member, and an active super member is better positioned as a financially secure retiree," Mr Morrison-Dowd says.

Risk profile understanding your mood to investing
The vital corner stone of any super investment is an individual's risk profile; this is often prepared in collaboration with a financial planner.

With Monitormysuper, super fund members fill out a proprietary online questionnaire called 'Vest Profiler'. This profiles what type of investor they are. For example, do they have an appetite for risk, or are they cautious when it comes to investing?

Monitormysuper stores the completed profile and over time repeatedly matches it against the asset allocation (or investment mix) of the investor's superannuation fund.

Members can update their profile whenever they like to ensure it accurately reflects their mood to investing. If Monitormysuper detects an incompatibility between an investor's 'type' and the asset spread of their superannuation investment, the member is alerted immediately with a recommendation to discuss the situation with their financial planner.

In this process, Monitormysuper allows financial planners to better 'know their clients' avoiding the client having the wrong product and wrong outcome. It also allows the planner to put the "client first."

About Monitormysuper.com.au
This new and independent service was developed over three years in close consultation with the financial planning industry.

Monitormysuper is a joint venture with Vestdata which is an Australian share market and managed funds performance reporter. Vestdata has been successfully operating from its Victoria office for 15 years.

For further information, see http://www.monitormysuper.com.au/
Contact: parkyoung [email protected]
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David Park
m 0418 159 231
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Trevor Young
m 0412 368 683
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SOURCE: monitormysuper