MLC completes platform revamp
MLC will present its new look MasterKey platform to the market next week when it goes live with a raft of changes announced late last year aimed at enabling advisers to more efficiently service a broader range of clients.
The enhancements include the new MLC MasterKey Investment Service, new insurance product MLC MasterKey Protection Essentials and an enhanced margin lending offer, National Margin Lending.
One of the key aims of the new offerings is to allow advisers to provide retirement advice to people in their thirties and forties, according to MLC head of investment solutions, Anthony Waldron.
“It is now common knowledge that Australia is facing a significant challenge called the retirement savings gap. One of the ways to close this gap is for people to take control of their finances much earlier in life,” Waldron said.
“People in their 30s and 40s have different needs to retirees. They are in a wealth accumulation phase and need advice on wealth protection and debt management as well as superannuation and investments,” he added.
The new insurance offer has been designed to provide an uncomplicated solution without the bells and whistles most clients won’t ever use.
“Wealth protection is critical for the thirty-something market as this is the segment that has the highest levels of debt and therefore has an equally high amount of risk if an unfortunate event occurs which prevents the primary bread winner from going out to work,” Waldron said.
Recommended for you
Shaw and Partners has merged with Sydney wealth manager Kennedy Partners Wealth, while Ord Minnett has hired a private wealth adviser from Morgan Stanley.
Australian investors are more confident than their APAC peers in reaching their financial goals and are targeting annual gains of more than 10 per cent, according to Fidelity.
Digital advice tools are on the rise, but licensees will need to ensure they still meet adviser obligations or potentially risk a class action if clients lose money from a rogue algorithm.
Zenith Investment Partners has lost its head of portfolio solutions Steven Tang after 17 years with the firm, the latest in a series of senior exits from the research house.