Speaking to InvestorDaily, QMV Super Solutions chief executive Brad Goodall said the superannuation industry has only itself to blame for being “forced to go down the SuperStream path”.
“It should have been something that we did proactively because we recognised we could create a better experience for members and employers,” Mr Goodall said.
Superannuation funds are still using legacy products developed 15 or 20 years ago, he said, and to make matters worse, there is a host of ‘subject matter experts’ in the industry who have been around for as long as these legacy products.
“There are examples of ‘Barry in the corner’: You’re not really sure what Barry does, but he’s been there for 25 years and you know that it’s extremely critical to the operations of the entire business,” he said.
Many people working within superannuation funds are only interested in maintaining the status quo, Mr Goodall claimed.
“It should be about challenging what we’ve got here and now to try and leverage off what other industries are doing,” he said.
The current culture cannot continue if the superannuation industry is going to embrace automation, he continued. “[That culture] is probably being forced out. But it definitely still exists – not just in industry funds, but in retail funds as well,” Mr Goodall said.
When it came to industry consolidation, he said funds need to get data migration times down from 12 months to at least six months and there needs to be more consolidation within the industry to get the number of funds down to the ‘magic number’ of 77 in the Cooper Review (there are currently around 300).
QMV is involved in the due diligence projects being conducted by funds at the moment, but there is “probably not enough work being done yet” when it comes to consolidation, he said.
Even when a possible merger falls over – as was the case with Equipsuper and Vision Super, in which QMV was involved – the due diligence work can still be useful, Mr Goodall added.
“Both funds learnt a considerable amount about their internal operations, so I would suggest it wasn’t a complete waste of and time and effort and money,” he said.
