Class weathers exit of AMP SMSF clients

Self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) administration provider, Class appears to have withstood the decision by AMP Limited to migrate its clients off the company’s platform.

Class chief executive, Kevin Bungard told the company’s annual general meeting that while the migration of AMP off the Class Super platform and its suspension of funds reduced net growth by around 2,700 accounts, Class had grown net new accounts by 18 per cent over the quarter.

He said that excluding the AMP move, the company had added over 28,000 new accounts.

Bungard told the AGM that at the end of September, AMP had around 7,100 funds on Class and accounted for just over three per cent of recurring revenue.

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Elsewhere in his address to the AGM, Bungard pointed to recent research from KPMG which estimated that the number of SMSFs would grow to over 740,000 by 2023.

“The $1.5 million balance transfer cap and contributions limits will limit the future dollar inflows into SMSFs and pensions, but for most people a $1.6 million balance is still aspirational and the cap alone will not significantly limit the establishment of new SMSFs,” he said.

“Of course, future political decisions, the Royal Commission and the Productivity Commission report into Superannuation all the potential to later the SMSF landscape and will continue to create some uncertainty across the industry over the next several months,” Bungard said.

The Class CEO pointed to a “fiercely competitive land-grab” for the estimated 200,000 SMSFs still to migrate to the cloud.

He said “fee holidays” were main incentives being offered and, in these circumstances, Class’ focus on winning in such an environment was converting as many of the 200,000 desktop funds as it could to the cloud.