The SMSF Association has welcomed the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s consultation paper on affordable advice and said the self-managed superannuation fund advisers being able to provide limited advice was a key issue.
The association said the paper was an important step forward in addressing the issue of consumers being able to access quality financial advice in a cost-effective way.
SMSF Association chief executive, John Maroney, said: “The association has long been concerned about the regulatory burden involved in providing advice, so this initiative provides an opportunity to find solutions that are affordable and workable for advisers and consumers without sacrificing the integrity of the advice.
“We believe this process is our opportunity to address the failed ‘limited licence’ regime and re-design a way for our members to provide scaled advice scoped purely for consumers with an SMSF.
“We want to outline to ASIC what the real SMSF barriers are and what needs to be done to solve them. We will be in touch with members to discuss this process soon.”
Superannuation funds will have two options for charging fees for the advice provided by the new class of adviser.
The proposed reforms have been described as a key step towards delivering better products and retirement experiences for members, with many noting financial advice remains the “urgent missing piece” of the puzzle.
APRA’s latest data has revealed that superannuation funds spent $1.3 billion on advice fees, with the vast majority sent to external financial advisers.
Cbus Super has unveiled Advice Essentials Plus, a new service offering affordable financial advice to both members and their partners.