Nigel Rukuwai’s introduction to OMNIMax occurred in an unlikely place: the back of a taxi. Returning from a meeting, Nigel’s colleague told him about a tool they had begun using that made it easy to review and recommend KiwiSaver
Nigel is the Principal Adviser and Managing Director at Wealthpoint Nelson. He is also a Director of Wealthpoint Ltd, a New Zealand wide co-operative of fifty businesses and 150 advisers.
Most of the Wealthpoint network operate across all four advice categories: life and health insurance, general insurance, mortgages, and investments. Finding a cost-effective way to offer KiwiSaver was essential given the relatively low margin of this product. Compliance was another consideration. Nigel says, “You can’t recommend KiwiSaver without a compliant and cost-effective tool. How do you compare the performance of a client’s existing KiwiSaver to the marketplace as well as fees, product mix, ESG needs etc. The OMNIMax solution makes it all streamlined.”
The importance of independent and quality advice
As an independent business, it was important to Wealthpoint to be able to show clients the key advantages of being independent. “The OMNIMax KiwiSaver solution allows us to compare fees and fund performance across a wide range of KiwiSaver providers and helps select the most appropriate option for clients.”
Making quality advice available to KiwiSaver holders was also important. “We know this is the one of the most important financial products people will hold in their lifetime. It will be a key retirement savings vehicle.”
“The OMNIMax KiwiSaver solution allows us to compare fees and fund performance across a wide range of KiwiSaver providers.”
Enhancing the client experience and improving client retention
Another benefit of using the KiwiSaver tool has been the enhanced client experience it provides. “Clients are happy to see how their current KiwiSaver plan compares to others and how it will affect their retirement. They could try and compare all the providers themselves, but you just can’t. And clients often don’t know where to start.”
The Wealthpoint Nelson team have also seen how the product has improved their bonds with clients. Nigel says, “Client retention is key. If we can offer another product and have another reason to regularly speak to clients, we strengthen our bond. This can then increase the time clients are with us.”
“I can now send a Fact Find and when I get it back, I can generate a Statement of Advice in 10 minutes”.
10 minutes to generate a Statement of Advice
With most Wealthpoint advisers offering advice across four categories, their days were already busy. Adding KiwiSaver to the mix without the OMNIMax solution would have been a huge task. “We would have had to avoid new KiwiSaver clients if we didn’t have this KiwiSaver solution. I can now send a Fact Find and when I get it back, I can generate a Statement of Advice in 10 minutes”, says Nigel. “Now we are growing our books and have another product to offer our customers.”
Revenue growth and future opportunities
The success of the KiwiSaver solution has led to KiwiSaver now making up a substantial chunk of Wealthpoint Nelson’s business, with $3-5 million added to their books. They have also seen more opportunities for growth with a plan to move current investments in poor-performing legacy products, over to a new KiwiSaver product.
Overall, Nigel is pleased that he happened to be in the right place, at the right time, to be introduced to OMNIMax.
