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| Fabian Ross |
West Australian super fund GESB is backing calls for Australians to receive greater encouragement to obtain financial advice.
The fund has taken its position based on its own research, which showed Australians are too often seeking financial advice from the wrong places, with one in three preferring to take advice from their family, compared to one in six who are likely to visit a professional financial adviser.
GESB general manager of wealth management Fabian Ross said at a time when Australians were living longer and facing increased barriers to retirement saving such as the reduction in concession contribution caps, it was more important than ever that they be encouraged to seek financial advice to plan and save efficiently over the long term.
“A person’s level of income or assets should be no barrier to accessing the financial advice that could help ensure an adequate income in retirement,” he said.
Ross said the industry had a long way to go to educate Australians about the role of professional financial advice in helping to ease risks to super and retirement saving such as longevity, market fluctuations, inflation, liquidity and early death.
He said that while the fee for service versus commissions debate was important to consumers, there was an even more pressing need to increase consumer understanding of the value of advice.
