POWERED BY MOMENTUM MEDIA
SMSF Association welcomes ASIC levy reduction
The SMSF Association has praised the adviser levy relief for providing advisers with “breathing space” amid a period of regulatory upheaval.
The move would mean the levy from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) would be held at the FY19 level for the next two years of $1,142 per adviser, as opposed to the previous estimate of $3,138.
Association chief executive, John Maroney, said the fact that many advisers worked in small and medium-sized businesses meant they were ill-equipped to cope with large cost increases like those proposed by ASIC.
“The freeze in the per adviser levy will provide advisers with much needed certainty and breathing space at a time when the advice industry is not only dealing with the impact of COVID-19 but is facing long-term structural change with the introduction of a single disciplinary body and a compensation scheme of last resort currently before the Parliament,” Maroney said.
“Significantly, the Government has also signalled it will review the ASIC industry funding model, an initiative we have been calling for almost since the inception of the levy under the Australian Government Cost Recovery Guidelines.
“When the levy was introduced, there were 26,000 financial advisers, a figure that has fallen to nearly 19,000. Consequently, the cost per adviser has been rising exponentially.
“It’s also worth noting that a large portion of individual financial advisers work in small and medium-sized businesses and don’t have capacity to absorb large and unpredictable increases in costs. So, these costs are ultimately borne by consumers, making financial advice even more unaffordable.”
AUTHOR
Laura Dew
Laura Dew is editor at Super Review. Prior to joining SR, she spent five years working at Investment Week in the UK covering asset and wealth management.
Recommended for you
The impact of identity theft and its threat to superannuation savings were highlighted in a case that went before the Federal Court at the end of 2023.
A recent NSW Supreme Court decision is an important reminder that while super funds may be subject to restrictive superannuation and tax laws, in essence they are still a trust and subject to equitable and common law claims, says a legal expert.
New research from the University of Adelaide has found SMSFs outperformed APRA funds by more than 4 per cent in 2021–22.
The SMSF Association has made a number of policy recommendations for the superannuation sector in its pre-budget submission to the government.
TOP PERFORMING FUNDS
ACS FIXED INT - AUSTRALIA/GLOBAL BOND
Fund name
3y(%)pa
1
DomaCom DFS Mortgage
76.97 3 y p.a(%)
2
Global X 21Shares Bitcoin ETF
76.46 3 y p.a(%)
3
UBS Solactive Global Pure Gold Miners UCITS ETF Dis USD
51.13 3 y p.a(%)
4
Global X GlobalX FANG+ ETF
45.15 3 y p.a(%)
5
Select Baker steel Gold Institutional
43.78 3 y p.a(%)
