Millennial super fund Spaceship has raised $19.5 million – and tackled the biggest criticisms it faced
Millennial superannuation app Spaceship has responded to critics by cutting fees, increasing its exposure to tech stocks, launching a new investment option and forming an advisory board. Some in the finance industry argued the 1.6% fee that the startup charged was not competitive. Another criticism of Spaceship, which opened to applications early this year, was that while it was marketing itself as a tech- and future-focused super option for millennials, it wasn’t actually investing in tech stocks any more than traditional pension funds. Stockspot founder Chris Brycki, in a column for Business Insider in March, called Spaceship “clever marketing”. “They get full marks for the use of flashy marketing and […]
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The shape of superannuation to come
The superannuation system has undergone sweeping changes in recent years and the dust has yet to settle. According to a finance software provider, tomorrow’s super system will look markedly different to the one we know today. In a recently released white paper, software company Bravura said Australia’s super system is likely to undergo a number of changes to meet the new regulatory environment and the advancement of modern technology. The role technology is slated to play in the delivery of superannuation services in coming years is likely to increase drastically, the company said. Super funds will be able to collect “unprecedented” amounts of data from their members and use this […]
KPMG sees robots taking over tax compliance
When 800 executives were surveyed for a World Economic Forum report published in September 2015, three-quarters said company audits would be performed by artificial intelligence by 2021. A similar proportion reckoned the world would have witnessed the first tax collected via blockchain within that timeframe, while 45 per cent said robots would be occupying places at the board room table. Clearly, the tax profession is ripe for digital disruption. In a new briefing paper, KPMG envisages a world where much tax compliance work is done by machines, leaving humans to pick up the more complex tasks. While computers will do the heavy lifting on the number crunching front, tasks requiring […]
Fintech disruptors hurting established players
As trends go, financial technology is a beauty. The prospect of nimble “fintech” ventures disrupting financial-service incumbents has whet investor appetites. An Australian fintech sector is rapidly emerging. Fintech has been a boom sector in the United States and United Kingdom as technology-based companies, with their capital-light business models, nibble at the market share of large firms. It happened in print media, publishing, music and education. Now the same trend, where new firms offer financial products and services using online platforms, is disrupting parts of banking, wealth management, insurance, payments, accounting and foreign exchange. There is, of course, much hype about fintech. But the financial-services sector looks a prime target […]
RBA governor Glenn Stevens backs blockchain and tech disruptors
The blockchain technology that underpins controversial crypto-currency bitcoin could bring significant benefits to the global banking system, Reserve Bank of Australia governor Glenn Stevens said. Speaking in his regular year-end interview with The Australian Financial Review, Mr Stevens said it was important for banks to figure out how the technology could be used to create broader efficiencies in the financial system. The words of support from a high-profile central banker will be welcomed by banks and start-ups around the world, which are working to develop applications for the relatively new technology. Blockchain is a digital record of transactions spread across separate computers designed to withstand tampering even by the people […]
