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Alex-Burke's avatar
Alex-Burke
Icon for Advisely Team rankAdvisely Team
4 months ago

FAAA on QAR/super incentives

In a recent submission, the FAAA criticised the lack of "specific encouragement provided for people to seek external professional advice that is not tied to a single product solution" in the Government's post-QAR roadmap. Obviously, the "product solution" being referred to there is super funds. 

This is a broader issue than the distinction between so-called "qualified advisers" and "relevant providers" (which I talked about here), given the FAAA's concerns about potential "bias and conflicts of interest" within institutionally-aligned advice providers. So I'd like to ask: do you envision there being a clear pathway for members to get external advice in addition to, or following on from, the advice they get within their super fund? 

If so, should the Government be more explicit about this in its proposals? And what do you think that pathway would look like? 

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  • Phil-Anderson's avatar
    Phil-Anderson
    Icon for Advisely Partner rankAdvisely Partner
    4 months ago

    There is a definite benefit in super fund members being able to access financial advice that meets their simple needs. This might be a check of the asset allocation in their investment portfolio, or a review of their insurance needs. Most advisers would not be able to provide this type of advice at the cost that these members could afford. It is better that they get this simple advice, rather than going without advice. However they should know that it has come from someone who was not as well qualified as a fully qualified adviser and who was not able to advice on a broader range of products. These same members will hopefully come looking for financial advice from a fully qualified adviser when they have the ability to afford it. At least they will have a reasonable idea of what financial advice is and the value of advice.