AustralianSuper's proverbial burying of the hatchet in its old stoush with financial planners last week raised some eyebrows.
Even among its fellow not-for-profit funds there was some frowning, with one executive describing the establishment of a financial planning panel as "a bit left field".
Previous attempts to outsource financial planning services have not always been successful.
Some industry funds even found the cultural gap with super fund administrator AAS-owned planning firm Money Solutions too wide to be workable.
The announcement of a relationship with six dealer groups - Godfrey Pembroke, Matrix Planning Solutions, Dixon Advisory, Woods & Partners, Paul Moran, Switzer Financial Planning - who are well-established in the retail sector seems a bridge too far to some.
But AustralianSuper growth and new opportunities general manager Paul Schroder said that the Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) reforms has created a new playing field and old notions should be thrown out.
"The FOFA reform package will fundamentally transform this industry," Schroder said. "We are all operating in a new world, and we all need to proceed with a clear mind."
FOFA will ban commissions and one could argue that with this move an important trump card of industry funds has been taken away, as it will become more difficult to communicate the differences between retail and industry funds to members.
The introduction of MySuper will further narrow the perception of differences as default options across the industry will have to comply with a generic template.
Industry funds, therefore, will need to continue to innovate and expand their services to remain attractive, especially with the introduction of a series of low cost retail super products.
The new-found friendship with financial planners is, therefore, not a move away from the fund's not-for-profit values, but an effort turn the competition up a notch in a post-FOFA world.
"The core proposition of an industry fund is that all profits are for members, and that is at the centre of everything we do," Schroder said.
"[But] the superannuation environment is changing; it is becoming more competitive. We are making new arrangements in relation to advice because it is something that we have been underweight in," Schroder said.
The deal with the dealer groups does not mean AustralianSuper's existing advice provider Industry Fund Financial Planning (IFFP) has been side-tracked. "IFFP remains the backbone of our financial planning strategy," Schroder said. "We expect to broaden our relationship with IFFP," he said.
But in this new and more competitive environment, it would be difficult to rely solely on IFFP. "It is impossible to have a relationship with just one planning provider," he said.
