Brian Peters reflects on IQ Group reaching the significant milestone of 15 years in operation, in Australia’s rapidly transforming superannuation and wealth management sector. Created at the turn of the new millennium, IQ Group has evolved through acquisition and organic growth to expand our consulting expertise to now run project teams from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. The last five years – with the overhaul of Australia’s super regime, spearheaded by the SuperStream and Strong Super initiatives – have seen more change than in the previous 30.
Fiercely independent focus and genuine partnerships
We owe our position today because of two elements of our culture. The first is the genuine partnerships we have with our clients which lead to two-way flow of ground breaking ideas.
The second is IQ Group’s fierce independence and deep industry and technology expertise has been credited with helping clients chart a clear course through the sector’s complex regulatory and technological changes.
As an autonomous voice of the industry, IQ Group has been a valued contributor to the development of Australia’s new framework. Our Chair, Graham Sammells’ appointments as Chair of the ASFA e-commerce Committee and to the SuperStream Advisory Council attest to our influence.
Many of IQ Group’s initial clients remain committed customers as we play a trusted advisory role, offering solutions that continue to answer the pressing and rapidly changing issues, and exciting opportunities, open to the sector.
Applying our intelligence
Reducing churn and costs are ever with us – it’s how we apply our intelligence to help clients deal with them that creates differentiation.
Funds will be under increasing pressure, in terms of fees, and as a result will look to optimise their cost structures through better internal systems, the integration of internal organisational services, and as they assess initiatives such as peer to peer services.
In the near term, the next 12 to 18 months, we see that the priority placed on digital member engagement starting to reap rewards and industry members coming to grips with the New Payments Platform – their role here and how to optimise opportunities- and the rise of blockchain.
Our sector will also undergo a greater focus on insourcing and outsourcing activities. Those transitions will put pressure on the how robust internal processes and systems are, especially concerning the governance of project delivery and associated benefits.
The future will be influences by first and second wave digital strategies and that’s going to produce a much more complex system and supplier environment for all parties within the superannuation industry. Success will come to those that integrate efficiently, and keep doing that in a dynamic fashion.
Tremendous opportunities from re-positioning and change
Over the next five years or so our sector’s significant re-positioning and change will provide tremendous opportunities. We’re looking forward to helping our clients harness the value inherent in the data that they collect and manage, to generate operational efficiencies and to respond innovatively to change.
And, for us, the convergence of regulation and compliance across the broader financial services spectrum, will allow IQ Group to extend our consulting practice into areas such as investment management and life insurance.
IQ Group is focused on playing a meaningful role in creating the best possible future for its customers, its people, the company and Australia’s wealth management sector as a whole. We rely on our strong domain expertise in superannuation and wealth. We have a thorough understanding of technology and the way it enables and powers future possibilities. And we acknowledge that robust regulatory change is necessary for any sustainable system.
CEO
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