The sale of superannuation products via unsolicited telephone contact should be banned alongside the sale of insurance products, according to the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA).
The AFA has used a submission to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) dealing with proposed new anti-hawking provisions to pointed out that the Royal Commission had proposed a ban on the unsolicited sale of both insurance and superannuation.
“We support these proposals,” the AFA submission said.
“More broadly, we believe that the acquisition of financial products should be on the basis of financial advice or otherwise be client-initiated.”
The submission said the AFA was also very aware of the risk of consumer detriment where the needs and circumstances of the client are not adequately considered.
“For this reason, we think that there should be broad restrictions on unsolicited telephone sales of financial products,” it said.
While the Financial Advice Association Australia said it supports a performance testing regime “in principle”, it holds reservations about expanding this scope to retirement products.
In a Senate submission, the Financial Services Council said super funds should be able to nudge members on engaging with their super and has cautioned against default placements.
The Joint Associations Working Group, which counts FSC in its ranks, has issued an urgent warning to the government.
Senator Jane Hume will join the speaker lineup at the inaugural Australian Wealth Management Summit.
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