Welcome to the Mclowd Practitioner Update.
Retirees are facing a massive hit to more than $100 billion worth of vital income streams as the coronavirus pandemic crushes their superannuation, personal savings and share dividends
SMH June 13th 2020
Introduction
In the coming months SMSF Professionals will generate financial statements for their clients which reflect recent events, including the fact that:
- Over $100 billion has been wiped from the value of Australia’s banks
- The dividends from those same banks – and countless other entities – have been cancelled, slashed or deferred
I would caution against interpreting those events as cyclical.
What is happening is that powerful deflationary forces are now colliding with both:
- The value of SMSF assets
- Their ability to generate nominal yield
Unfortunately that context is now a permanent feature of the SMSF landscape, and whether it is equities, commercial property or fixed interest, we have entered a new low-yield environment which will inevitably result in structural changes to the industry.
Recent Deliverables
As flagged in the most recent Community Newsletter, the upgrade regarding fund and member status is now live, allowing Practitioners to:
- Manage the departure (and as required arrival) of members during the course of a financial year
- Have those events automatically reflected in period processing
- Manage the wind up of a fund
This is amongst the largest (and certainly the most complex) of the deliverables that has been targeted for delivery in 2020, and I would like to acknowledge the ongoing efforts of the whole Team.
We will update the User Manual and Video Tutorials shortly (active users who have any queries in the interim should contact the Support Team).
Release Notes
With over 100 firms now reliant on Mclowd for their SMSF clients it is important that we build more formal processes into our development workflow, including the publication of Release Notes.
Eventually we will get to a monthly cycle, but for now quarterly is more appropriate.
Website Refresh
In addition to the above we have also refreshed the public website, which now includes:
- An online chat facility
- Improved access on mobile devices
Subsequent versions will incorporate:
- Case Studies illustrating the involvement of key Practitioner stakeholders
- A telephone channel for both sales and support
Conclusion
Many of the old ways of doing business are unlikely to survive COVID-19 and its aftermath.
Exposed as it is to the decline in nominal yields and the impact on the value of long-dated assets, there is little evidence to suggest that the SMSF sector will be immune from these tectonic shifts.
In that context the engagement from – and support of – a growing body of SMSF Professionals is encouraging myself and the whole Team to work even harder to improve the technology and processes which underpin the Mclowd Community.
Please keep the feedback coming.
Regards
Ashley Porter
Managing Director
Mclowd Pty Ltd