Industry superannuation funds and retail super can work together to preserve the integrity of the industry, the head of the industry super body said.
“It’s not about working together or not working together,” Industry Super Network chief executive David Whiteley told InvestorDaily.
“The issue is getting the settings of our system right,” Whiteley said.
Asked whether the two super industries could work together to bring that about, Whiteley said: “I think that’s what we’ve been trying to do.”
Whiteley’s comments come amid an intensifying stoush between industry super and Australia’s financial advice industry.
The ISN called on Australia’s advice industry, in the process of quitting the commission-payment system and adopting a fee-for-service structure, to avoid the asset-based payment model because it was too similar to commissions.
ISN has been running press advertisements that urge people to choose industry super’s upfront payment structure over asset-based remuneration.
The FPA has called on the ISN to abandon what it called a ‘fear campaign’ over ongoing advice fees and commissions.
“On behalf of our professional financial planner members and their clients who represent some $630 billion in investments and retirement savings in Australia, I call upon the ISN to desist from its latest deceptive and hypocritical claims in the best interests of all Australians – their own industry super members included,” FPA chief executive Mark Rantall said.
However, Whiteley said any type of ongoing fee would raise the cost of advice to consumers: “Ongoing fees are a very expensive way to pay for financial advice and this is shutting out the four out of five consumers who do not seek financial advice whether from financial planners, accountants or super funds.”
He added that upholding the public’s perception of the industry was key.
“From our perspective, what motivates the industry super funds when it comes to the regulation of the superannuation sector is to maximise its integrity so consumers can have trust and confidence in superannuation,” he said.
