Who are we? Why are we here?
In a perfect world, you wouldn’t need Savvy. In this imagined super heaven, every fund would communicate with every member often, honestly and simply.
It would be remarkably easy to compare one fund with another because every fund was upfront about its investment objectives, investment strategy, investment mix, performance and fees.
Sadly the world’s a long way from perfect and it takes the diligence and sweat of a committed team of experts - oh, and the three of us - to dig deep to find the kernels of fact needed to compare and benchmark fund products.
It also takes a serious commitment to decode the anagrams and superbabble that litter the super landscape and present stuff with clarity. Do we succeed? You be the judge.
Whilst some of us have extraordinary experience in super (some of us called Jason), it won’t be helpful to our members if we show off our grasp of superspeak.
Each of us represents members at different stages of their super life cycles. We judge every fund and product on the basis of how appropriate to the members we represent.
Want to know more about us? Perfectly natural.
Greg Alder
Greg plays rugby for Australia, runs Australia’s only Michelin 3-toque restaurant, has won the Nobel prize for literature and famously beat Kelly Slater for the 2007 world surfing title.
When not dreaming, he watches a bit of rugby, cooks the odd meal at home and writes letters to editors (two of which have actually been published).
As an advertising creative director, he mastered the art of communication - not immediately obvious from his conversation.
Advertising also taught him a lot about spending money. He thinks he must have been absent for the lessons on saving it. He has worked in marketing research. He has written a book on what it takes to lose clients and threatens to write another on how to avoid winning new business. He has conducted workshops to help clients think more creatively, better understand their audience and find pots of gold under toadstools.
He knows quite a bit about super. It will never be as much as that know-it-all super guru, Jason. (Nor any of the full-time researchers we use at Savvy.) Greg tries to forget what he knows so he can view funds’ websites, products as a novice. Given his advanced years, forgetting what he knows is a breeze. He’s especially interested in how well (or horrendously) funds understand and communicate with their members.
With the tips Greg’s picking up working for Savvy, he’s pretty confident that he’ll retire in comfort well before his 90th - at which time he plans to take up board riding.
Jason Clarke
Live fast, die old. If only.
Jason is clearly the straight man of SuperSavvy. An accounting degree and a graduate diploma in financial planning only confirm it.
Procedures, risk management, robust research and informed decision-making make a great day out for this guy. Jason’s had over 20 years experience in all facets of super. He’s advised funds on asset allocation and portfolio construction and worked as a stockbroker. He has administered and accounted for funds, set up systems and written annual reports, newsletters and marketing plans. He has set up SMSFs and provided advice to individuals.
He has worked for SuperRatings for the past 8 years and is an authorised rep of SuperRatings Pty Ltd AFSL. He is by all accounts a bona fide expert. And that’s a good thing, because when you need our impartial super advice (and you do need it), it’s best it comes from an expert.
Jason is a member of more super funds than anyone could fathom. He puts it down to research.
Can a man live on superannuation alone? Almost, but not quite. A pinot noir vineyard in North West Tasmania, a racehorse named Jimmy Fortunes and importing muscle cars from Hong Kong keep him sane - and keeps him away from establishing an SMSF.
Casey Hammond
Casey is the go-to girl of Savvy. Member services, website content and design, member communications, promotions, marketing, accounts and admin are all in a days work for our Gen Y Savvy team member. Casey has recently completed her RG146 which means she is a certified super nerd.
Having been with SuperRatings for 2 years Casey is now pretty savvy when it comes to her super. But it wasn't always this way... Like everyone else her age, Casey was happy to stick her head in the sand and not worry about super until she was 50. This plan might have worked if she weren’t receiving statements from her 7 different super funds every 3 months.
One really dull day with nothing better to do, she took a closer look at her statements. What she saw shocked her (and she isn’t easily shocked). She realised that most of the 7 super funds were ripping her off! Casey set off on an immediate crusade to find the perfect super fund. It was a search that shook her out of her Gen Y complacency and now she’s keen to share what she’s learned. Good and bad.
Having always been a cool kid some of Casey's other interests include horse-riding, surfing, music festivals, scuba diving, Italian food and learning new languages... Spanish is the chosen language for this year... Ole!