Fixing a flawed culture… and introducing our new CEO!

How can we change the culture within financial services firms to ensure the interests of clients are put first?

That’s one of the key questions Commissioner Hayne grappled with as he prepared his thousand-page report.

As we all know, the Royal Commission hearings exposed the failings of many of our financial institutions, ranging from unethical conduct to criminal behaviour.  In nearly all cases, the misconduct occurred when client wellbeing was ignored in favour of personal gain. In other words, sales trumped service.

While the conduct uncovered by the Royal Commission was widespread, it was by no means ubiquitous – many people have been unfairly tarred with the misconduct brush. But in the eyes of everyday Australians, the culture is broken. It’s likely legislation to enact many of the Commissioner’s recommendations will be drawn up swiftly. But legislation doesn’t change culture. The cultural transformation required to win back trust might take years – even decades.

At Money101, we’re not waiting: we’re acting right now.

Education – the best medicine

Let’s face it, whatever legislation is passed or penalties imposed, there will always be instances of misconduct in the delivery of financial services. Blame the dark side of the human condition. But we believe education can be a potent antidote to misinformation, and an excellent defence against dishonest practices.

We’ve been delivering financial content and engagement resources to banks, superannuation funds and corporates for 15 years. We’ve used jargon-free financial education to help thousands of Australians better engage with their superannuation, explore banking options and understand how to handle debt.

Over that 15 years, we’ve learned a lot. We’ve built a great team of finance and tech professionals, and we’re proud of our reputation as the best financial educators in the business. Now it’s time to ramp things up. To do that, we needed to expand our leadership team.

Introducing our new CEO

We’ve got our work cut out for us in the wake of the Royal Commission. So Theresa Mills has agreed to join us as CEO to take the business onwards and upwards. We’re very fortunate – not only is Theresa one of Australia’s most experienced financial services leaders, she’s on the Government’s Financial Literacy Board, and passionate about financial education.

She has worked in funds management, financial planning, stockbroking, trustee services and merchant banking. More recently she was Executive General Manager of Guild Trustee Services, leading the fund’s growth from $450 million to over $1.3 billion. A key focus of that role was to develop strategies to improve the financial literacy of the fund’s 75,000 members.

Now, she’s leading the introduction of our new Financial Wellness program into businesses across the country, in addition to managing and expanding our financial services partnerships.

Financial fitness at work

Employers have understood for decades that helping employees stay fit and healthy has business benefits. Now, there’s evidence that supporting staff while they become financially fit can pay off even more. People with money worries and poor financial literacy can benefit hugely from financial education. Employers benefit too, with research confirming that a financially fit workforce is healthier, happier and more productive.

Which is where we step in.  With our experience developing engaging digital content, facilitating financial wellness in the workplace is a logical expansion. The 110 contemporary modules which make up our Financial Wellbeing program include best-practice content, and draw from our experience in delivering jargon-free financial education.

We’ve got you covered

Wherever your business is or whatever you do, we can work with you to help your people make better financial decisions. From self-paced learning modules to hosted microsites, we’ve got you covered.