Not-for-profit superannuation fund NGS Super is looking at adopting an in-house financial planning model as it plans to add more financial advisers.
In May 2009, the superannuation fund appointed Mercer to provide its 82,000 members with advice services.
The services included telephone advice, face-to-face financial planning and online facilities.
"We are looking at developing a model that could bring our financial planning service in-house. This will mean adopting a corporate authorised model with Mercer," NGS Super chief executive Anthony Rodwell-Ball said.
"Planners will work with us directly but be licensed under Mercer."
The superannuation fund also had plans to hire a financial planner to its Sydney office and an associate planner, Rodwell-Ball said.
The financial planning service became available in September 2009. Since then the fund has received 700 referrals to the service, resulting in 600 appointments to engage with advisers.
"Our advice service is really firing along. We are able to engage with our members. In some cases we are converting these discussions with our members into complex financial plans," Rodwell-Ball said.
NGS Super also had plans to offer tailored engagement, he said.
"We have a women's forum which provides us with views of our female membership," he said.
"With 70 per cent of our membership female, we felt it was important to better understand our members and what they want from the fund."
In addition to the forums, NGS Super will be targeting its high net worth members with briefings on its pension products.
"As well as these forums we will continue our program of engaging with our employers," Rodwell-Ball said.
