Welcome to the Mclowd Newsletter, our monthly communication to Investors, Marketplace Professionals and Partners.
Introduction
The theme of the Mclowd Newsletter over the next few months will be:
COMPARE THE PAIR
During this important year-end period we will be emphasising the cost savings that are now available to SMSF Trustees, practitioners (and eventually other asset owners) from leveraging the economics of cloud computing and crowdsourcing to drive down the cost of investment administration.
In this context transparency is the most powerful weapon in the Mclowd arsenal, and it is one we will use without fear or favour, as we seek to redefine the cost structure of the asset management industry.
Obviously there was a time when this phrase was associated with the industry super funds, which sought to differentiate themselves based on their not-for-profit status.
However in spending more than $250 million on the Superpartners administration system, the Funds involved have effectively abdicated their role in maximising retirement outcomes for Australians. (AMP spending a reported $20 million on their recent staff conference in Istanbul falls into the same category).
Accounting Platform Update
Version 2.2 is now live, including the following functionality:
- Reinstatement of GL rollover
- GL rollback
- Multi-factor authentication
- Auto reverse for Roll-Ins and Dividend Reinvestment
Next month will also see integration with our actuarial certificate providers.
At the current rate of progress we anticipate being able to deliver the key year-end reports (Member Benefit Statements and Statement of Taxable Income) by September, just as the data required for migration is available for extraction from the existing accounting packages.
As always detailed Release Notes are available on the website.
Data Feeds
I am pleased to announce that Mclowd has reached agreement with SISS Data Services to provide automated data feeds for Users of the accounting Platform (both individual Trustees and practitioners).
This is an important milestone in the evolution of the Mclowd Community.
In conjunction with the new functionality that has been scheduled, these data feeds will allow accounting and financial planning firms in particular to plan for their FY15 migration with confidence.
Trustee Users and Channel Partners will contract with / pay SDS directly, and access to the SMSF accounting software will continue to be free.
To be clear: like individual Trustees accounting and financial planning firms will pay nothing to Mclowd for use of the SMSF accounting software.
Marketplace
As mentioned in the February Newsletter version 3.0 of the Marketplace will be live in the next few days, and a formal launch has been scheduled to coincide with our participation at CeBIT (Sydney May 5-7).
Activity continues to grow, with more than 75 service providers now participating, and the most common Tasks being:
- SMSF audit
- Assistance with migration to Mclowd
Looking at the feedback that is being submitted in relation to these Tasks, the transparency inherent in crowdsourced marketplaces is driving high quality outcomes for clients, and in doing so laying the foundations for rapid scaling in the volume of work which can be processed.
Thanks again for all the support we have been receiving for our efforts to improve retirement outcomes for Australians.
Kind Regards
Ashley Porter
Managing Director
Mclowd Pty Ltd