Keeping you ahead with personal service and support

Even in today’s increasingly technology-driven world, financial planning remains first and foremost a service business. As soothing as Siri’s voice can be, clients’ iPhones can’t guide them through important financial decisions. It’s advisers that can better meet their needs.

At Colonial First State, our business has always been centred on our relationships with financial advice businesses and their clients and that won’t be changing.  

The best investment we’ve ever made at CFS is spending time with advisers to really understand what they need so we can continue to provide award-winning personal service and support solutions to help them meet their clients’ needs.

As part of this, late last year we conducted a series of listening sessions with advisers from every part of the market. We heard that while human interaction remains key, technology also has a vital role to play.

With this in mind, over the next 12 months we will be focusing on four areas, all of which have technology at their core.

1. Managed accounts solutions

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Firstly, managed accounts allows advisers to deliver standardised investment outcomes for their clients while simultaneously slashing the burden of ongoing admin.

And, as we’ve never subscribed to the one size fits all approach, we have developed three distinct managed account solutions to meet the needs of individual advice businesses – our recently launched managed account solutions for FirstChoice and FirstWrap, and a tailored solution currently in development.

2. FirstWrap user experience enhanced

Secondly, we’ve been redesigning the platform so it’s cleaner, easier to use and more intuitive.

We’ve collaborated closely with advisers throughout this process to understand how they use the platform, and we’ve used this information to create more logical navigation.  

The new design also integrates with smartphones and tablets and incorporates industry best practice for accessibility and functionality. This will be live at the end of May.

3. Data analytics

The third area is data analytics. Many advisers will be familiar with our research partnership with the University of Technology in Sydney and the individual business DNA packs that are made available to them.

Our latest version has recently launched which includes six completely new data areas including predictive data, forecasting data and a section analysing call logs.

For us, it’s all about giving advisers as much personalised and relevant data as possible to help them grow their businesses and support their clients.

4. Milliman partnership

We’ve recently partnered with a global leader in retirement solutions, Milliman, who over the last two decades have transformed the retirement space through the use of big data, risk management techniques and deep research into human behaviour.

Milliman joins a growing stable of selected alliance partners including leading global investment specialists Acadian, AIM, Aspect and Generation, allowing us to bring advisers the latest in world‐class investment options that can drive better retirement outcomes for their clients.

Customer service isn’t a department… it’s the entire company

While it’s true that without technology we wouldn’t have a business, the human connection remains of vital importance, such as providing advisers with the best possible personal service and support to keep them ahead.

Personal service has always been a priority for CFS, and more than ever it remains true today, as evidenced in the recent Wealth Insights adviser satisfaction survey.

We were really pleased that we were again rated #1 for platform service[i], covering everything from BDM service, admin support, reporting and ease of doing business.

For more information visit: colonialfirststate.com.au/service 

Peter Chun, General Manager Distribution, Colonial First State

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This document has been prepared by Colonial First State Investments Limited ABN 98 002 348 352, AFS Licence 232468 (Colonial First State) based on its understanding of current regulatory requirements and laws as at May 2018. While all care has been taken in the preparation of this document (using sources believed to be reliable and accurate), to the maximum extent permitted by law, no person including Colonial First State or any member of the Commonwealth Bank group of companies, accepts responsibility for any loss suffered by any person arising from reliance on this information. Colonial First State is the issuer of the FirstChoice range of super and pension products from the Colonial First State FirstChoice Superannuation Trust ABN 26 458 298 557. Colonial First State also issues interests in investment products made available under FirstChoice Investments and FirstChoice Wholesale Investments, other than FirstRate Saver, FirstRate Term Deposits and FirstRate Investment Deposits which are products of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia ABN 48 123 123 124, AFS Licence 234945 (the Bank)

Avanteos Investments Limited ABN 20 096 259 979, AFSL 245531 (Avanteos) is the issuer of the FirstWrap super and pension products from the Avanteos Superannuation Trust ABN 38 876 896 681. Avanteos also issues interests and operates investments under FirstWrap. Colonial First State and Avanteos are a wholly owned subsidiary of the Bank. The Bank and its subsidiaries do not guarantee the performance of FirstChoice products or FirstWrap products or the repayment of capital from any  investments This document provides information for the adviser only and is not to be handed on to any investor. It does not take into account any person’s individual objectives, financial situation or needs. You should read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) before making any recommendations. Clients should read the PDS before making an investment decision and consider talking to a financial adviser. FirstChoice PDSs can be obtained from colonialfirststate.com.au or by calling us on 13 18 36 and FirstWrap PDSs from your Business Development Manager.

[1] Wealth Insights 2018 Adviser Survey