BT Financial Group (BTFG) has revealed its Panorama platform has had success in attracting newly established SMSFs versus already established funds, while announcing a material drop in its pricing today.
New customers will automatically access BT Panorama Investments and BT Panorama Super at a new 0.15 per cent a year asset-based administration fee across their platform assets, capped once assets reach $1 million, and a flat yearly account fee of $540.
The group also launched BT Panorama Compact, offering a simpler investment menu for a flat account fee of $180 a year for each account and a 0.15 per cent a year asset-based administration fee, capped at $1 million.
During a teleconference today, chief executive Brad Cooper said: “We’ve made substantial investments into the Panorama platform for quite some time and that’s allowed us to bring in digital capabilities, automation and a lower cost of servicing, enabling us to make some substantial changes.
“We want to offer one simple, low-cost offering [given] the complexities of pricing structures that are out there.”
As of June 2018, BTFG had 5738 SMSFs on Panorama out of 20,414 investors, with 1661 advisers using the platform and a total of $10.7 billion in total funds under administration.
“We’re really happy with that number of SMSFs on the platform,” Cooper told selfmanagedsuper.
“As a commercial business, if you ask me if we want more, of course we’d like more, but what we’ve discovered through rolling this out is it’s been easier to get customers as new SMSFs, so when they’re setting one up for the first time.
“What’s been challenging is when someone’s already got an SMSF established and they’ve got various or different ways of managing the assets within the SMSF; it’s more difficult to make that transition. That’s one in five in our offer.
“Of the SMSFs that are on Panorama now and have made the transition, the feedback we’re getting has been very, very positive.”
He said the group will continue to build its SMSF numbers.
“We work with the SMSF Association, we engage with a lot of accounting firms and we’re trying to do more direct communications to trustees,” he said.
“It’s a pretty fragmented market so it’s hard to have one strategy that allows you to hit all SMSFs.
“Our strength is in investments overall, so that’s investments both inside and outside of superannuation, and the fact that it’s all on one platform gives scale advantages and therefore efficiency, so because of that we can offer a lower price.”
He said the platform’s broader asset classes, data security and digital capabilities have resonated with its customers, whether inside or outside super, and irrespective of the vehicle used.
BTFG also announced from October its new online adviser hub, BT Open Services, will be available to both self-licensed advisers and dealer groups, regardless of whether they use BT platforms.
The group will implement an open price for governance services, advice tools, investment research, licence transition support, training and marketing support.
