Vanguard’s digital adviser solution to launch later this year

Following the launch of Vanguard Super in November last year, the firm announced that adviser access to Vanguard Super will be delivered through the Vanguard Adviser Portal which, at the time, was said to go live “in the coming months”.

However, last week a spokesperson for Vanguard confirmed to ifa that they anticipate launching towards the end of this year.

“We are currently running a pilot with a small group of advisers and we look forward to implementing refinements and prioritising which features to deliver based on the feedback we collate.”

Also last week, Vanguard announced it plans to merge its two retail direct businesses – superannuation and non-superannuation.

In a statement on Thursday, the investment manager confirmed the evolution of its organisational structure as the “next step” in its continued enhancement of the “service and experience” it provides to both clients and advisers.

“The financial needs of Australians continue to evolve, and we’re working to evolve our business capability and service offering to meet these needs”, said Vanguard Investments Australia managing director, Daniel Shrimski.

“Whether it’s policy, tax, economic, or market forces at play, Australians increasingly have to consider the right avenues of investment both inside and outside of the super system in order to effectively progress their financial goals,” he added.

Vanguard also provided an update on Vanguard Super, noting it had reached its first milestone.

“It’s just the beginning for Vanguard Super, with a strong start seeing over $500m in assets under management to date, while our investor platform service has gone from strength to strength through the ongoing enhancement of our product and service offering,” said Mr Shrimski.

“The changes we are announcing today are focused on continuing to strengthen this value proposition through bringing together the teams serving our retail clients in a cohesive and streamlined business structure, geared up for future growth,” he added.

Back in November, touching on the adviser portal, Mr Shrimski said: “We are taking the time to ensure what we deliver through the adviser portal provides a seamless and efficient way to manage their Vanguard clients, both inside and outside of Super.”

Vanguard also confirmed last week Balaji Gopal would continue to be in charge of the development of the adviser direct portal as acting head of financial adviser services.