Constant engagement and online connectivity means expectations are increasing all the time when it comes to SMSF administration solutions, according to Heffron SMSF Solutions co-founder and head of customer Meg Heffron.
“We have invested significantly in technology and other areas over the last few years to make sure we’re able to meet our clients’ increasing expectations,” Heffron reveals.
The business provides a wide range of SMSF services to accountants, advisers and trustees, including documentation, technical support, actuarial certificates, education and training, as well as SMSF administration.
In order to ensure advisers will continue to be attracted to the company’s proposition, it’s vital for the business to keep providing its key clients with the services they need.
“The strong message we receive from our adviser clients is the importance they place on partnering with a provider who has strong subject matter capability,” Heffron says.
“Moving forward, as the industry evolves, there is likely to be increasing demand for a business like ours to meet a range of different adviser needs: some advisers will always want to do everything by phone and email, whereas others want to interact on line and self-serve.”
The same goes for access to a technical expert – some want it and others don’t, she says.
“And some want the cheapest possible service and are happy to absorb the additional work this might create or tolerate the constraints it imposes, while others value the ‘we’ll do it all for you’ approach,” she says.
“Perhaps most importantly, their needs change over time. Being able to flex with our clients’ needs is something we’re continuing to work on, but there’s always more to be done.”
Heffron SMSF Solutions’ approach to administration is to partner closely with advisers in delivering SMSF services to their clients.
“Our primary goal is to make life as easy as possible for the adviser and their trustees – whether that’s providing a smooth, safe and hassle-free administration service or a quick and reliable response to a complex technical question,” Heffron explains.
“Our service to advisers has always been funnelled through dedicated client relationship managers who are SMSF experts. We allocate one or two to each adviser group so that advisers always have access to market-leading expertise when they need it.
“This year, we’ve been expanding out the number of people who are talking directly with our clients to include more of our accountants and administrative staff. That way, we can deal more quickly with routine issues and make sure the experts are free for complex technical queries and problem solving.
“Also, legislative changes like the ones announced in the May 2016 federal budget may well result in a slowing of SMSF growth at some point, but they are already proving a boon for our training business.”
She says the award win represents approval from advisers for the services and support they’ve experienced.
“We are very excited to win this award for the first time – we have formally celebrated the result within the team,” she says.
“In a complex business like ours, any great achievement like this depends on a high level of alignment and team work.”
