The superannuation winners of tomorrow would be those that dared to be different, JANA founder John Nolan told the conference.
Nolan expected more consolidation within superannuation funds in the next few years. The survivors, he said, would have to be well-branded, devoted to customer focus and would crave to be different.
To be different, trustees would have to make hard decisions, but they risked feeling some pain through a drop in returns or loss of some members.
“The reality is less than 20 per cent of trustees who say they are different will feel the pain,” he said.
The big question would be focused on the threshold for pain, Nolan said. And changes in the fund’s board or trustees would alter that level of pain.
Nolan questioned whether trustees could condition themselves to be different. “If you are going to be different, you will be facing financial, business and career risk,” he said.
“The financial risks are if the fund underperforms. The business risk is that the returns lose member’s wealth and the career risk is you will be out of the door.”
Nolan admitted that it was not easy to be different, but he argued the returns for being different could be good and could save the day.
