A significant section of the superannuation industry would welcome a change to the regulatory structures to ensure greater management independence within superannuation banks owned by the major banks, according to a survey conducted by Super Review.
The survey, conducted during the recent Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) conference in Adelaide, revealed nearly three-quarters of respondents believed a regulatory change was needed following evidence delivered to the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry.
The survey also revealed a strong belief that bank staff should be precluded from ‘selling’ superannuation products under the label of “general advice”.
The survey revealed that 71.4 per cent of respondents agreed that, given the evidence heard during the Royal Commission, changes were warranted to the manner in which superannuation funds operated within banks’ vertically integrated structures.
On the allied question of whether bank staff should be permitted to “sell” superannuation to clients under the label of general advice, 85.7 per cent of respondents answered “no”.
The survey results have been released just days after the Royal Commission would up its hearings in Melbourne on Friday, with the Commissioner, Kenneth Hayne, scheduled to deliver his findings and recommendations in February.
