Evolutionary Awards – Alexforbes: My Money Matters

Category: Evolution in improving member outcomes

Describe your evolution:

In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, continuous learning and professional development have become essential for individuals and organisations alike. As we strive to stay competitive and relevant, the need for a dedicated member education website has never been more critical.

The Alexforbes My Money Matters platform was designed to be used by the members of our retirement funds as well as the broader public. The initial focus was to assist with the delivery of Retirement Benefit Counselling but has evolved over the last few years. During COVID the site became invaluable to assist with the requirement to provide information to members while physical presentations could not be done.

Over the years it has evolved to be the main source of retirement and financial information for Alexforbes fund members. It serves as the cornerstone for our commitment to fostering a culture of continuous improvement, knowledge sharing, and financial growth among our members.

Currently the My Money Matters site has several functions:

1. Centralised Knowledge Repository
It provides easy access to a wealth of resources for members including information on starting with a new employer, leaving an employer, retirement and general financial topics like debt management and saving for an emergency.
All member campaigns have links to the MMM site who want to know more to ensure that all members have equal access to high-quality information, regardless of their geographical location or time constraints.

Information on the newly launched two pot system is also hosted on the site to reach as many members as possible about the changes that is taking place.
By consolidating resources in one place, we can streamline the learning process and eliminate the inefficiencies associated with scattered information.

2. Personalised Learning Experience
One of the key advantages of a centralised information site is the ability to offer personalised journeys for people at different points in their financial lives. This approach not only enhances engagement but also ensures that members receive relevant and impactful learning material when they need it.
The site allows for a variety of media to be used to assist members who require different ways of communication. These include information on the website, YouTube videos, brochures. calculators and access to the fund platform where they can check their fund values.

3. Cost-Effective and Scalable Solution
Traditional in-person training and development programs are costly and logistically challenging, especially for organisations with a diverse and geographically dispersed membership base like Alexforbes. The My Money Matters website provides a cost-effective and scalable solution, allowing Alexforbes to reach a larger audience without the constraints of physical space and travel expenses. This digital platform can accommodate a growing number of members and adapt to their evolving needs, ensuring that our information initiatives remain sustainable and impactful. It is also easy to make quick changes to information when legislation changes, instead of relying on traditional communication only.

4. Enhanced Member Engagement and Retention
Providing valuable educational resources and opportunities is a powerful way to enhance member engagement and retention. The My Money Matters website demonstrates our commitment to supporting our members’ financial development. By offering a robust and user-friendly platform, we can increase member satisfaction, loyalty, and long-term engagement. This ultimately contributes to the overall success and growth of our organisation as members move from group retirement members to individual clients.

5. Data-Driven Insights and Continuous Improvement
The digital nature of My Money Matters allows us to collect and analyse data on member interactions and preferences. These data-driven insights enables us to continuously improve and evolve the platform, identifying areas for enhancement, and tailoring our offerings to better meet the needs of our members. By leveraging analytics, we can ensure that our educational initiatives remain relevant, effective, and aligned with the evolving demands of our industry.

6. Solutions and Enablement
The platform not only provides information but also allows access to a financial adviser at the click of a button. Depending on which fund the member belongs to the allocated adviser can assist with counselling or advice, free of charge. It is also possible for the individual to implement a digital financial solution like a tax-free savings account, unit trust or retirement annuity, with or without the help of an adviser. Without the option for the member to implement a solution to the financial issue they identified their outcomes are unlikely to be changed. The MMM site allows for the resolution of this problem by linking information, advice and the solution at the members’ fingertips.

Conclusion
In conclusion, the My Money Matters website has allowed us to provide a centralised, personalised, and scalable platform to empower our members to achieve their full financial potential. We are confident that the My Money Matters website will continue to grow and improve as an invaluable resource for our members.

Describe the impact your evolution has had in response to its identified challenges and targeted outcomes.

The Alexforbes Member Insight Report that analyses the membership data in our corporate funds have shown that the additional access to information, together with counselling and advice interventions are bearing fruit. The statistics have shown improved retirement outcomes as well as preservation rates from 2021 to 2023, especially in funds where access to information has been promoted.

The site has been built as the base for the provision of information to members at scale, but it does not work in isolation. The provision of information in this way has been instrumental to free up adviser time to be able to provide personalised advice instead of standard information that can be found on the site. There have been concerted efforts to marry information with counselling and financial advice for members.

By providing information on the website, it has been possible to get the right information to members at the right time, in time. The site can be changed to keep up with the continuous improvements to our information delivery models and can be changed to suit the changing needs of today & tomorrow’s members. The more members we can reach the better the overall outcome for the members who are engaged.

Unless we use a scalable approach, it will be impossible to reach all the Alexforbes fund members who need information on day-to-day financial questions. The site plays an important role in the overall communication strategy of the company. As a financial services company that focusses on retirement funds it would’ve been easy to only focus on retirement funding information for our members, but it is important to also assist members on other financial goals.

By providing information on goals like education, debt management and fun things like saving for travel a member can become more financially interested, confident and capable. They also do not have to hand over their finances to a board of trustees to decide for them. Therefore, it increases the probability of meeting the member’s overall needs. More savings in general leads to the increased likelihood of members being on track for retirement.

The site also provides members with the information to make informed decisions, and improved financial education benefits the entire economy. The information that can be accessed, as well as the easy-to-use solutions available are giving members the power to oversee their own financial outcomes. When the time comes to retire the information can also improve a member’s retirement outcome by utilizing savings properly.

We have only seen the start of the impart that the My Money Matters site will have, and we are looking forward to helping many more members in the future.

Supporting Documentation >