Written by Keeli Cambourne
Published by SMSF Adviser on 4 August 2023
Click here to read on the SMSF Adviser website
Keep your clients engaged by using the right technology
Keeping SMSF clients engaged with their fund or portfolio is one of the best ways to retain and grow business, says a leading software provider.
At the BGL REGTECH in Sydney this week, Ron Lesh, BGL’s managing director, said technology can help advisers in ensuring their clients get as much information as they want or need and helps create better engagement.
He said new technology that allows advisers to do tasks such as digital signing can make it easier for clients as well as their service providers.
“BGL has built technology to help build client relationships,” he said.
“Things like digital signing are such an important way of gaining clients plus you get things done much faster than sending around paper documents,” he said.
“You can also give clients access to a mobile app through which they can check on their super fund balances every morning.”
However, Mr Lesh said building relationships with clients also requires more than just one meeting a year.
“Are you investing in your team so your team can have the relationships [with clients]?” he asked.
“Are you doing more than just compliance? We have the tools that can keep clients engaged.
“The AI that we’re using for processing review and document processing gets data more quickly and clients want data more quickly, so it means they can look at things more often and kept up to date.”
One of the latest updates to the BGL technology suite is the BETA release of its AI-powered paper-to-data software solution, BGL SmartDocs 360.
Mr Lesh said developed BGL SmartDocs was initially developed as part of its existing compliance offerings, Simple Fund 360 and Simple Invest 360.
“BGL SmartDocs reads PDF or image files, extracts the information and converts it into useful digital data using artificial intelligence, saving our clients a huge amount of time and money while dramatically reducing errors and improving efficiency,” he said.
“As the SmartDocs technology evolved, we realised it could provide a solution for many businesses leading to the creation of BGL SmartDocs 360.”
Mr Lesh said BGL SmartDocs 360 is unique in that it uses artificial intelligence with advanced deep-learning algorithms to process documents.
“BGL SmartDocs 360 learns from documents submitted through its training engine, unlike other solutions that require the creation of templates for each document layout,” he said.
“Once BGL SmartDocs 360 has learnt the document type it will permanently process the document type even if the document itself changes in layout. The document can be either a PDF or an image.”
“The AI data identification capability of BGL SmartDocs 360 allows businesses dealing with high document volumes, such as accountants, SMSF and investment administrators, to easily upload or email documents for automated processing.”
