Hostplus online financial advice imminent

Hostplus is close to releasing an online member advice service that takes into account fund members’ personal details.

The online adviser is distinct from online calculators because it is tailored to individual members and linked to their personal accounts, according to Hostplus chief executive David Elia.

It incorporates factors such as age, income, super account balance and dependants, he said.

The tool was developed by Toowards who are currently working with Hostplus’ administrator, SuperPartners, to integrate the package onto the fund’s administration platform. Once that process is complete the tool will also integrate the fund’s insurance offering and link straight to a member’s account, allowing them to actually execute a particular request online, Elia said.

The online adviser, available only to members who are logged in to the Hostplus site, will form part of the Hostplus intra-fund advice offering.

“It is the closest thing a member can receive to personalised advice without actually sitting down with a planner,” Elia said.

With people increasingly being driven towards the Internet for information, particularly in the younger Hostplus demographic, it is more likely that they will engage with an online tool than to call up and ask for advice, he said.

The enormity of providing limited advice to a growing number of members will eventually lead more funds to consider this type of service, Elia said.

Final due diligence is being carried out on the online adviser by accountants and actuaries, and once that process is complete the service should be available within the next few weeks, he said.