The $1.5 billion Westscheme super fund has signed a deal to licence financial planning and projection software by Customer Acquisition and Retention Management (CARM).
Westscheme joins giant industry fund UniSuper, and dealer groups including Count, PIS and most recently, AMP Financial Planning, to use CARM software. AMP’s new interactive, online financial planning experience, TurningPoint – launched last week – is based around illustrative projection software built by CARM and tailored to meet the specific needs of AMP Financial Planning and its clients. Similarly, Westscheme will use CARM to highlight and discuss important financial and lifestyle issues with its members. According to CARM’s Paul Resnik, the group’s software is built with the client in mind. “Most providers build their software to be used by the planner, but ours is built for the clients,” he said. “The application being used by Westscheme is an illustration tool, and allows the user to look at their superannuation at different stages in their life.” CARM is currently in negotiations with Westscheme and Count to licence additional pieces of software. “AMP has a tailored our software into their process, but Count has not reconstituted the software in any way. Count uses CARM’s standard retail product, but we’re starting to talk about integrating data feeds,” Resnik said
A managed investment scheme holding 20 per cent or more in unlisted assets is deemed an illiquid scheme and is restricted from providing frequent liquidity, but there is no formal limit on how much super funds can allocate to these asset classes. The Conexus Institute writes this is a special privilege given to APRA-regulated super funds that should not be taken for granted.
David Bell and Geoff WarrenFebruary 6, 2025
