There has been so much going on in the SMSF marketplace recently and it has probably been a little while since I have written clients, so I thought it was time for an update.
You will have seen a lot of M & A activity in the SMSF and corporate compliance market – first the purchase of a document provider by one of our competitors, followed by the purchase of the competitor itself and thirdly the purchase of an actuarial certificate provider. Wow! Not bad for a short couple of months.
As I am sure you can imagine, BGL also receives many advances for us to sell our business. But unlike others, we are not looking to cash in. We love what we do, and we love our clients. We see our role is to serve you, not sell you!
So, forget any rumours you have heard, BGL is NOT for sale and we have absolutely no plans to sell the BGL business.
Now, let me talk a little about the 2020/21 financial year.
BGL achieved record revenue in 2020/21 of $35.6m, up 13.44% from $31.4m in 2019/20. We also had good growth in client numbers to 8,315 up from 7,832. In what has been a pretty tough year, I am very proud of what our team has achieved. And I am very thankful to you, our clients, for sticking with us and helping us grow.
In the same period, we invested a record amount of $10.6m in Research and Development. We continue to invest heavily in our products with many software releases of CAS 360 including New Zealand and Singapore, Simple Fund 360 with workpapers and SmartDocs and the release in mid-June 2021 of Simple Invest 360. Our team has worked tirelessly through 2020/21 to produce sensational award winning software for you.
At the same time, we have invested in our account management, client success and support teams to ensure we are well resourced, so our clients receive and continue to receive remarkable service. This is the priority for us.
BGL is here to stay. We see huge potential for our business to continue to grow without acquisition. We expect 2021/22 to be a bumper year.
Before I finish, let me also thank our Ecosystem partners. You guys too are an essential part of our business and we love each and every one of you.
So, thank you again for your support. We know we would not be where we are today without you, our clients.
Hi Ron, from a little fish a big thankyou to BGL for keeping me so well informed about what is happening in SMSF and making it so easy for me to manage my own fund. Your staff have always been so supportive with any issues I have had (often of my own making / lack of understanding) and helped me to rectify them. Wishing all at BGL a terrific Christmas. Cheers.
Thanks Kerry