Super funds race to implement digital advice

Australian superannuation funds are increasingly turning to digital advice tools to bridge the longstanding gap between members needs and access to affordable financial guidance, according to executives at wealth technology Bravura Solutions.

Speaking in Sydney, managing director of wealth and advice Nicole Kennedy said many superannuation funds continue to rely on outdated processes, creating friction for members at critical life stages such as retirement, insurance claims and financial hardship applications.

"At some of the most critical points in people's lives, whether interacting with their super fund or seeking advice, the process is still so much harder than it should be" Kennedy said.

She noted while some funds describe themselves as digitally enabled, many still depend on paper forms, email attachments and manual processes. In some cases, rework rates on member requests can reach 70% resulting in delays and repeated interactions.

Kennedy said Bravura's technology has been built around a "zero-touch administration" model, with more than 99% of transactions processed without human intervention.

The company's focus on digital advice has emerged as a key growth area as regulators continue to push funds to improve retirement outcomes under the Retirement Income Covenant.

Michelle Lusty, head of Midwinter advice products, said leading funds are already seeing strong engagement with digital advice tools designed to provide personalised retirement guidance at scale.

"We're seeing leaders that are absolutely making huge strides forward in terms of their retirement and advice solutions, and momentum is really building," Lusty said.

She pointed to implementations at funds including AMP, Aware Super and Future Group, which allow members to model retirement outcomes, optimise contributions and assess income strategies through regulated digital advice journeys.

Lusty said digital advice should not be viewed as a replacement for comprehensive financial advice, but rather as a way to serve members who would otherwise receive no advice at all.

"The comparison is not to what an adviser can do," she said. "It's to members who wouldn't receive any advice at all."

Both executives said artificial intelligence would play an increasingly important role in improving member engagement and accessibility but warned that AI-generated guidance remains unreliable without robust governance, regulation and trusted data resources.