Home Articles This fintech startup is shining a light on the not-so-super sector for...

This fintech startup is shining a light on the not-so-super sector for businesses and their employees

0

Australia’s first independent, employee choice-of-fund platform, Roll-it Super, has announced its pilot launch, with plans to shake-up Australia’s employer nominated (default) superannuation sector and awaken employers and employees to the critical role super fund selection plays in our financial futures.

The Roll-it Super platform combines unbiased, independent information on every Australian super fund, alongside financial literacy tools and a rewards program that will be available to employees for free via participating employers.

What gap is Roll-It Super looking to fill?

The launch of Roll-it Super comes following the alarming Productivity Commission report into Superannuation, which found low income employees in under-performing default super funds retire with $635,000 (53 per cent) fewer savings than their counterparts in high-performing funds.

Ten million Australian workers today leave their super fund choice to employers, despite the reality that 75 per cent of employers are as equally passive and unengaged when it comes to selecting a high-performing super fund. The result is a staggering transfer of wealth from employee super accounts to the superannuation industry, with fees increasing $11 billion in just three years.

The brainchild of founder Mark MacLeod, Roll-it Super seeks to address the web of conflicts, market failures and underperformance inherent in the default superannuation sector. After losing $50,000 of his own super when his employer unintentionally invested him in an under-performing default fund, MacLeod wants to help great employers empower their workers to reclaim control of their super, equipping them with the tools they need to properly understand and maximise their super.

Founder of Roll-it Super, Mark MacLeod, commented: “A light is being shone on the superannuation sector. The Royal Commission hearings exposed super funds putting commercial self-interest before member interests, while the Productivity Commission exposed the market failure of the default super sector. The solution is not more super funds-that is the last thing Australians need. What all Australians need is for current super funds to work hard for our money and do better.

“Roll-it Super is not here to recommend products and we do not receive commissions from super funds. We are purely here to help employers avoid the traps of default super and advocate for employees to make smarter and more informed superannuation investment choices,” Mr MacLeod added.

He continued: “Bad super habits start at work. Employers should not be responsible for selecting the most important financial product of an employee’s life, this is a decision only an individual can make. We are going to empower employees across Australia, from any profession, to take control of their financial future today.”

Roll-it Super’s platform features include:

  • Super fund investment comparison and switching tool: This provides an unbiased comparison of an employee’s current super fund to every other super fund open to new members, making it easier to switch to high performing investments.
  • Financial wellness program: Designed to empower employees to take full control of their finances and encourage them to learn about money basics, from understanding compound interest to unpacking information around budgeting and super.
  • Rewards program: Boasting discounts on over 2,600 products, employees receive access to Australia’s largest employee rewards program, including savings across 350 brands, including Woolworths, Coles, Qantas and Caltex.

Roll-it Super’s pilot partners are not confined to a single industry, with the business working with employers across a range of sectors, including health and beauty, real estate, construction, recruitment and technology verticals.

Bootstrapping up until this point, Roll-it Super closed an oversubscribed $250K capital raise via the issue of convertible notes in October, and will consider a further capital round in early to mid-2019.