AM Corp launches online DIY business unit

AM Corporationhas made advances with its online offerings to advisers and clients with the launch of a new DIY superannuation business unit, AM Private Funds Services.

AM claims its Private Funds Services, which is a joint venture with portfolio administrator Multiport, is the first DIY superannuation provider in Australia to be totally web-based with clients having online access to investment portfolios and to the administration service provided by Multiport.

Multiport managing director John McIlroy says the joint venture came about from a meeting with AM Corporation’s David Smith who McIlroy describes as an innovator of the DIY super industry.

“David Smith and I got together and thought that the DIY market needed a new approach,” McIlroy says.

“With daily access to their portfolios and true daily administration, DIY clients can have a clear picture of their asset base at all times and can make fully informed investment choices.”

Part of the advantage of having a daily administration service will be to keep on top of tax management for tax instalments and super surcharges, he says.

At present, AM has about 280 DIY accounts that will be incorporated into the AM Private Funds Services, all of which will have online access through AM’s online Bureau service.

According to AM, more than 10 per cent of its 15,000 clients and advisers are now using the Bureau online service, which is a financial management tool that consolidates investment portfolio reporting and provides calculation tools.

AM has also made available via the Bureau, the Investment Risk Profiler which helps investors gauge how much risk he or she is taking on. This service is provided as a link to InvestorWeb.

Bureau manager Brendan Gallagher says the service is distributed via its network of advisers, although a very small number of individuals have also signed up to the service without the referral from an adviser. He says the difference between what the clients have access to and the financial advisers is in the detail of information available.

“Clients get a basic version, with pretty good reporting and management tools,” he says.

“Advisers get a lot more detail about performance information, for example, how the portfolio performance measures against the benchmark, while also having access to some more detailed research and software downloads.”