This new integration will provide financial advisers using Xplan with the ability to seamlessly initiate, complete and lodge their investor client’s SMI applications directly from Xplan.

This initiative between Iress and Hostplus’ SMI administrator, Citi, will improve adviser efficiency and make it easier for advisers to streamline onboarding of new and existing clients into Hostplus SMI.

This initiative also follows the recent integration of Hostplus SMI data feeds into Xplan, where Hostplus has partnered with Iress to provide daily SMI data feeds into Xplan, further making it even easier and more efficient for advisers who can also manage their client’s SMI investments via the Xplan platform, rather than having to login to multiple product portals.

Hostplus’ Group Executive, Paul Watson, advised that the ability for advisers to now integrate SMI data directly into Xplan, and the launch of a new Hostplus Adviser Portal, further demonstrates the Fund’s ambition to work with advisers and to help to reduce their administration effort.

“We are continuously looking for ways to provide advisers with the products, tools and solutions to help them achieve greater efficiencies across their businesses and to strengthen their service and support for their SMSF clients.”

Mr Watson  added that today’s announcement of the Fund’s Xplan integration is also now further supported by Hostplus recently also increasing business development and support resources dedicated to serving the financial planning community.

“Together, these form part of a wholistic adviser support structure that we are developing and rolling out to deliver quality service and investment solution outcomes for advisers and their clients,” said Mr Watson.

Coinciding with Hostplus’ intermediary advice channel support initiatives, the Fund also today confirmed that leading investment research and ratings house Lonsec has recently rated several of Hostplus’ SMI investment options as ‘Recommended’; Balanced, Infrastructure and Property, with these options now joining the Fund’s ‘Indexed Balanced’ option, which already holds Lonsec’ ‘Recommended’ rating.

Hostplus’ Infrastructure and Property Investment options provide a multi-manager style exposure to unlisted infrastructure and property assets respectively via selected external investment managers and co-investments that are ordinarily unavailable to retail and SMSF investors.

The multi-award winning and market-leading* Hostplus Balanced Option is a highly diversified actively managed option providing exposure to equities, infrastructure, property, private equity, venture capital and alternatives.

Mr Watson said, having these popular Hostplus’ options rated as “Recommended” by Lonsec was a further and independent marker of these investment options’ quality, as well as the credentials of the fund as an asset manager, which provides a further level of confidence for financial advisers and their SMSF clients using SMI.

“To have four Hostplus’ options recommended by Lonsec is a fantastic achievement, as their ratings are not only highly respected and trusted by the industry, but they are also viewed as a reliable indication of the product’s overall quality and ability to meet its objectives,” says Mr Watson.

As at the end of April, Hostplus’ MySuper (Balanced) option is ranked number the number 1 best performing fund in the country over 3, 5, 7, 10, 15, and 20 years^*.

Hostplus is now one of the largest industry super funds in Australia with 1.5 million members, more than 280,000 contributing employers and more than $89.2 billion in funds under management.

If you’re a financial planner and you’d like to learn more about accessing Hostplus SMI data feeds in Xplan, please visit: smi.hostplus.com.au