Meg's Musings December - December 2019

Some of you might know that Heffron celebrated 20 years in business last year. This major milestone inevitably triggered reflection about where we are today as well as determination and excitement about where we want to go next.

When we started the business back in 1998, SMSFs only accounted for around 10% of superannuation savings, there were fewer than 200,000 in existence and they were regulated by APRA (can you imagine?). Only a handful of firms genuinely specialised in these strange vehicles called (then) “excluded funds” and those who did were viewed with slightly raised eyebrows as perhaps being a little too risqué for sensible people. Over the last 20 years we have seen enormous change that continues today - our adviser and accountant clients are under increasing regulatory and competitive pressures, our trustees worry about rule changes that might affect their nest eggs, and new businesses in the SMSF world are rising and falling at an unprecedented rate.

So, where does Heffron fit in all of that, and who do we want to be?

For a start, we will hold on dearly to the things we know our clients love – our independence, high ethical standards, passion for client service and strong technical capability, with our special practical flavour. That won’t change.

But we are also very aware that in an industry experiencing rapid change, we need to keep moving to meet our clients’ evolving needs.

You can expect to see new products and services starting to emerge in the coming months. In particular, we have big plans to expand our education and to create tools that will help our clients access Heffron’s technical expertise easily and when it’s needed. We will also be enhancing Heffron’s client portal for our advisers, accountants and trustees.

We’ve started with a fresh, new look – new branding, a new website, and a new look and feel for our newsletters.

Despite the new appearance, the focus of Heffron Highlights will stay the same. We will continue providing the important technical content that we’re known for. That’s why the newsletter exists. But we will add two additional features; updates on new Heffron products and services and my very own segment, “Meg’s Musings”. This is where I have the freedom to move away from my usual technical articles and share anything from my observations about what’s going on in the industry to new things happening within Heffron and future trends we are keeping an eye on.