Company behind financial advice and superannuation comparison site Super Fierce in liquidation
A superannuation advice platform started by two former Macquarie Bank execs that claimed to “challenge wealth and superannuation norms” has gone under after three years.
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A financial advice platform started by two former Macquarie Bank executives has closed its doors, after a cofounder suffered a stroke.
Sydney-based Super Fierce launched its super advice platform three years ago, claiming it analysed more than 500 super funds and that it aimed to help close the gender gap for retirement savings.
It provided customers with a free statement of advice, promising to recommend alternative super funds with lower fees. It charged them for further assistance to switch funds.
Sole director, CEO and founder Trenna Probert said Super Fierce saved an estimated $400 million in super fees for its customers.
But the company, which was registered in 2019, went into voluntary liquidation last week.
Ms Probert told News Corp her husband and cofounder Craig Swanger suffered a stroke in late 2022.
In addition to running the start-up, she became his carer after he was in a coma for multiple days.
“For a long time, I didn’t know if he would survive,” she wrote in a note to customers and investors.
She also said the couple had made the decision to close the company, as it had been “challenging” and was no longer sustainable for their family.
“It has been an intensely stressful and traumatic period for our family and our business,” she wrote in the note.
“Craig’s long and painful recovery impacted not just our operations but every aspect of our lives.”
Mr Swanger, a former Macquarie Bank chief investment officer, was head of product for Super Fierce.
Ms Probert had also previously worked with Macquarie, as its Private Bank’s head of strategy in the Asia-Pacific.
The goal of Super Fierce had been to provide affordable financial advice to all Australians, she said.
The company had marketed itself as a solution to the gender gap in retirement savings.
Ms Probert thanked Super Fierce customers, investors and staff in her note.
She also told News Corp Super Fierce was “never just a company to us” and she was proud of the impact it had on women’s lives.
“Despite everything, we pressed on. We did so because our mission mattered, our team’s livelihood mattered, and our customers’ financial wellbeing mattered,” she wrote in her note.
“Super Fierce survived longer than most purpose-driven startups, despite facing enormous obstacles - including the persistent difficulty of raising capital as a female-led, female-focused fintech.”
The company also ran a social enterprise, Fierce Impact, reporting to donate $100 for each customer who switched funds to initiatives like free financial coaching for women in need.
It claimed to have donated $22,000 to women in need on its website.
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Originally published as Company behind financial advice and superannuation comparison site Super Fierce in liquidation
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