Wealth management chief executives have called for a greater emphasis on retirement outcomes from the industry as a whole in order to properly address issues like adequacy of savings, a recent survey has shown.
The Financial Services Council/PricewaterhouseCoopers CEO Survey 2010 revealed wealth management chief executives surveyed thought there was still too much of a focus on products and fees that was preventing the resolution of other key issues facing the sector.
These thoughts were expressed in response to concerns over adequacy among industry chief executives, with 44 per cent of respondents to the study conveying confidence in Australia’s approach to dealing with the challenges of an ageing population.
In particular, the chief executives said 95 per cent of a discussion between a financial adviser and a client would be about understanding and planning for a desired retirement outcome. However, when talking to the greater public the industry’s focus remains on products and fees and the accumulation stage of superannuation.
In looking to properly address the issue of adequacy of retirement savings, wealth management chief executives cited an increase in the superannuation guarantee as the most important initiative.
This differs to the nominated priority in the previous year’s study, which was improved investment performance.
Second on the list in 2010 was improving confidence in the superannuation system itself and the industry leaders thought this could best be achieved through stability of legislation.
The chief executives also called for greater publicity of the success of the superannuation industry to date in order to give consumers a more balanced view about the sector.
The Financial Services Council/PricewaterhouseCoopers CEO Survey 2010 was conducted between May and July of this year with 35 chief executives, covering all parts of the value chain.
The survey sample represented 80 per cent of the wealth management industry in terms of assets under management.
