Having previously held the role of former general manager of financial advice and education, Gregory’s promotion to UniSuper’s executive leadership team highlights the growing importance of guidance, advice and partnerships with external advisers to the fund’s strategic priorities.
Peter Chun, UniSuper’s chief executive, said that with around 90,000 members set to retire over the next five years, the critical role of advice continues to ensure members are prepared for retirement.
“I want to congratulate Andrew on this new and exciting role. At Unisuper, our purpose is to provide our members with great retirement outcomes and to achieve this, we must ensure our members have continued access to quality financial advice,” Chun said.
“We know members who access financial advice are better prepared for retirement. Andrew’s promotion to chief advice officer will help to ensure even more of our members will be empowered to make informed decisions about their superannuation.”
Gregory will officially begin the new role on 1 October and said that with increasing demand for guidance and advice, coupled with potential regulatory reform, there is currently a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to improve how millions of Australians access the support they need to make confident, informed decisions about retirement.
“Taking on the role of chief advice officer is both a privilege and a responsibility, especially given it comes at such a defining time for the industry.
“Advice has always been at the heart of UniSuper’s promise to members, we believe quality financial advice is not a luxury but a necessity when people are making some of life’s most important decisions,” Gregory said.
He added that the needs of members in the present day are “more complex” amid an industry that’s going through “profound change” with higher expectations from members.
“UniSuper is uniquely placed to meet these challenges with the scale, expertise and ambition to deliver advice that is both accessible and deeply personal.
“My focus is ensuring Unisuper leads the way while keeping members’ best interests at the heart of everything we do,” Gregory said.
Gregory’s promotion follows other Australian super funds – namely, Australian Retirement Trust (ART) and Aware Super – announcing initiatives to build better access to financial advice and strengthen adviser networks through partnerships, global insights and digital tools.
Earlier this month, ART announced a new collaboration with State Street Investment Management that aims to directly support advisers through access to global investment insights and practice strategies.
According to ART’s executive general manager – advocacy and impact, Anna Fuchs, advisers and clients are increasingly looking to take advantage of global investment opportunities in order to help diversify their portfolios.
Meanwhile, Aware Super launched a new suite of digital features designed to streamline administration for advisers and give them more time with clients.
The upgrades include direct data feeds to Xplan, online adviser registration and nomination, and in-app approvals for client transactions. According to the fund, these enhancements cut paperwork and speed up processing.
