BGL tips organic growth and Asian expansion

Self-managed super fund (SMSF) administrator BGL will likely continue to see rapid growth along with the sector, and has outlined a plan to push into the Asian marketplace through its compliance software. 

The firm attracted 130 to 140 new clients, mostly accountants, in the third quarter of this year, representing around 20,000 new funds.

BGL software is used by roughly three quarters of Australian SMSFs. If it maintains that proportion it will continue to grow at a significant rate without needing to change much about the current offering, although it would require continual recruitment in support staff, according to BGL managing director Ron Lesh.

BGL's corporate affairs software is also used to submit more than 40 per cent of Australian Securities and Investments Commission forms, which may provide an avenue for significant growth through expansion into the Asian marketplace where the firm has already established a Hong Kong office, Lesh said.

Lesh partly attributed the growth to fund automation. BGL has been focused over the past 12-18 months on automating necessary processes and is now nearing the point where a SMSF holding only listed securities can now be fully automated, he said.

SMSF administrators (including accountants and advisers, as well as genuine self-managing trustees) are looking to reduce their data input obligations and also making sure funds comply with all their legal obligations, with payments and contributions a major potential tripping point, Lesh said.