New streamlined PDS for Plum

21 November 2008

Plum is at the leading edge of superannuation industry communications, taking advantage of the Australian Securities and Investment Commission's (ASIC's) incorporation by reference regulations to reduce its Product Disclosure Statements (PDSs) on average to almost a third of their original size.

According to Plum's Managing Director Paul Carter, Plum's decision to take advantage of the new regulations followed Plum's member research into members’ experience when they first joined a fund.

'We went out to our members and asked them what they thought about the experience of joining a fund,' Mr Carter said.

'One of the comments that came up time and again was that they found the PDS had a lot of information and it could be difficult finding the information they were after quickly. That’s why we leapt at the opportunity to make things easier, more accessible and more streamlined for our members.'

Following ASIC's ruling, Plum put in place clear objectives to make PDSs as userfriendly as possible (including reducing its overall page count) and creating a layout that best suited members' needs, based on member research.

Mr Carter said Plum had successfully reduced its average PDS from just over 80 pages to around 30 pages, while retaining all important information for members and adhering to ASIC's guidelines.

'Being clear in our communications is not just about eliminating unnecessary jargon, it is about working out what our members want and delivering it to them within ASIC's guidelines. That is why our new style PDS has specific plan information, such as insurance, contributions, fees and investment choices in the beginning with more general information towards the back.'

Download the media release on new streamlined PDS for Plum (PDF 24kB).