This year’s top 10 stories included a peek into AustralianSuper’s international equities build out in London, AMP’s move to slash employee benefits, and plenty of hard-hitting analysis of the issues that matter in institutional investment. But the real story is how readers helped shape all of that coverage.
Orbis’ Stuart Place is riding from Melbourne to the Moon and Back to fund a treatment for the “monster of a disease” that his youngest son was born with. The investment industry is rallying behind him.
Financial Synergy signs historic deal with Statewide
(pictured: David Orford and Stephen Mackley)
Financial Synergy has signed its largest-ever contract – a deal with Statewide Super – in what is also believed to be the super fund industry’s first ‘software as a managed service’ contract, for its Acurity admin system.
According to Stephen Mackley, the system company’s chief executive, the deal is also the first in which Financial Synergy is taking responsibility for the “Opentext implementation and data conversion”. This refers to Financial Synergy’s new service, using global provider Opentext, which allows super funds and similar institutions to collect and analyse a massive amount of data to help in their acquisition and retention of members or clients.
David Orford, who founded Financial Synergy in 1978 and remains its chairman and major shareholder, sent a note to all staff, congratulating them for their efforts.
“We have already started work,” he said a couple of days after the final contract was signed this month. Statewide Super manages about $6 billion for 150,000 members, mainly in South Australia.
In his note to staff, Orford said: “This is another major success for Financial Synergy attributable to the many people [who] have made Acurity the best administration software in Australia (if not the world), Acurity Online the best online super admin facility in Australia, our Administration service the best quality in Australia and our consulting services – which, amazingly and consistently deliver on time, on budget with a high degree of client satisfaction – the great envy of our ‘competitors’ in Australia and elsewhere.
“Thank you all for your contribution to the success of our Company and to everyone that has worked to obtain this important new client – where we’ll once again create synergy.”
