ASIC should consider stripping financial planners of their licences if they fail to make clients' best interests a priority, according to Media Super chairman Gerard Noonan.
Speaking at an Association of Industry Superannuation Trustees (AIST) luncheon held last week in Sydney, Noonan said ASIC needed to have another look at how planners recommend industry funds to clients.
"ASIC should undertake their shadow shopping survey of financial planners again. It should look at stripping away planners' licences if they don't put the clients' interests first," Noonan said.
At the same luncheon, Industry Super Network (ISN) executive manager David Whiteley said the Cooper Review should introduce a "best-interest test" for financial planners.
"If this doesn't happen we will continue the campaign to get commissions banned. All financial planners should act in the best interest of their clients," Whiteley said.
Noonan also hinted that Prime Minister Kevin Rudd supported an increase in the superannuation guarantee (SG).
"Many insiders believe that Rudd has a sense of history and wants to increase the SG to 12 per cent. However, the SG is still associated with organised Labor and that is generally resented by Treasury," Noonan said.
Noonan said he would like to see Rudd tap into a sense of history regarding superannuation "a la Keating".
"There is a sense of grandeur that can be attached to the Rudd-Bowen partnership," Noonan said.
AIST chief executive Fiona Reynolds said industry funds needed to accept higher standards for themselves.
"There must be better trustee knowledge, skills and training at a sector level," Reynolds said.
As a result, AIST is currently writing new guidelines that say there should be 30 hours of professional development per year and all new trustees must do an introduction to superannuation and an introduction to investment course.
"If we make these sector changes it will be for the greater good of the industry," Reynolds said.
