The Labor Union Co-operative Retirement Fund (LUCRF Super) has appointed a head of its financial advisory services division.
The appointment is part of its application for an Australian financial services licence (AFSL).
Former Industry Funds Financial Planning (IFFP) planner Rod White has taken on the position as general manager of financial advisory services.
"This is the first step towards developing our internal approach policy," LUCRF Super chief executive Greg Sword said.
Sword said the fund lodged its application to expand the financial advisory service it offers members with ASIC in January and were waiting on a response.
"We are hoping that we'll be ready to go by the beginning of the second quarter," he said.
Sword said the service would be integrated and simple advice would be provided free of charge to members.
"We have the capacity to charge for advice, but generally our members don't require highly complicated advice," he said.
The fund would not be taking on any new planners, and has instead trained current call centre staff and business development managers.
"The overwhelming majority of people in our fund don't need the sorts of services that people in the financial advice business are trying to sell them," Sword said.
"Most people need pretty simple advice and I think that's why ASIC has moved to allow people to give advice in a much simpler way ... we have in place all the resources to do the job we anticipate."
