Joint media release with IFS and Iress
Hostplus has ushered in a new era in financial advice for members with the launch of SuperSmart, an innovative education-led digital tool aimed at helping members achieve the retirement outcomes they deserve.
In collaboration with one of Australia’s largest licensee and advice services providers, Industry Fund Services (IFS), and leading financial services software provider Iress, SuperSmart delivers personalised financial education and digital personal advice to eligible Hostplus members.
Hostplus Head of Financial Planning and Advice, Maurizio Lombardi, emphasised that SuperSmart takes the fund’s offerings to the next level with its user-friendly, fully integrated, self-guided platform.
“The launch of SuperSmart marks a pivotal moment in our commitment to enhancing financial education and advice solutions for our members,” Mr Lombardi said.
“With SuperSmart, members can engage with bite-sized educational modules—Power Ups and Smarts—that offer self-paced, tailored learning in a fun and interactive way.
“The platform is packed with intuitive features like an interactive risk profiler, helping members to optimise their super and plan for retirement,” Mr Lombardi added.
“SuperSmart is truly a one-stop-shop for members looking to uplift their super knowledge or seek advice, all seamlessly integrated to match their individual goals and preferences.”
IFS Chief Commercial & Partnerships Officer, Adrian Gervasoni, said that IFS was honoured to be the lead engagement partner for the project, which it hoped would contribute to strong outcomes for Hostplus members.“
IFS is proud to partner with Hostplus to deliver SuperSmart as part of their enhanced advice operating model, which aims to support Hostplus members to understand and navigate key decisions around their retirement savings,” Mr Gervasoni said.
"The ability to deliver personalised education and personal advice to eligible members at scale through the innovative SuperSmart tool is a game-changer for Hostplus and potentially for the broader superannuation industry.”
Iress Executive General Manager - Wealth, Kelli Willmer, said SuperSmart was created to support the industry to solve the advice gap, leveraging technology and data to deliver engaging, personalised digital advice journeys.
“Research shows that around 11.8 million1 Australians have unmet advice needs,” Ms Willmer said.
“The ability to access digital advice through your super fund provides an alternative and complementary channel to the ways financial advice has been delivered traditionally helping to meet the advice needs of more Australians.
“People with simple advice needs are often unable to access help due to cost barriers or the lack of self-guided and engaging online advice tools in the market.
“SuperSmart tackles this by combining Iress’ financial education offering with digital personal advice powered by Xplan and integrating it directly into registry software, providing a unique capability to deliver personalised member education and advice at scale”.
The SuperSmart platform is exclusive to Hostplus members and available now via Hostplus Member Online.
About Hostplus
Hostplus is one of the largest industry super funds in Australia with more than 1.8 million members, more than 312,000 contributing employers and more than $115 billion in funds under management. Hostplus continues to evolve and grow as the lifetime fund of choice for Australians and employers from a broad range of backgrounds and industries.
About IFS
Industry Fund Services (IFS) has been partnering with industry superannuation funds since 1994 to help their members achieve a secure retirement. IFS is dedicated to delivering comprehensive and trusted financial solutions to support superannuation funds and their members. IFS’ primary services include advice licensing and services that deliver trusted, fee-for-service financial planning to members, and the recovery of unpaid super to protect members’ entitlements. For more information, please visit www.ifs.net.au
About Iress
Iress (IRE.ASX) is a technology company providing software to the financial services industry. We provide software and services for trading & market data, financial advice, investment management, superannuation, life & pensions and data intelligence in Asia-Pacific, North America, Africa, the UK and Europe. www.iress.com
Members with NABP and DB pensions, Maritime contribution accounts, nil balances or non-standard investment options cannot access SuperSmart financial advice services. If you’re unable to access SuperSmart advice, please contact us on 1300 303 188 and we may be able help you with other options.
1. Investment Trends, ‘2023 Financial Advice Report’ (2023) https://investmenttrends.com/2023-financial-advice-media-release.