ASIC super switch guide released
The Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) has released the definitive guide to what it expects from advisers who switch clients’ super funds under the pending choice regime.
Compliance with the Corporations Act in relation to super switching advice will be monitored from next Monday by 300 ‘shadow shoppers’, surreptitiously assessing advisers on behalf of ASIC, through Roy Morgan Research.
The Super Switching Advice booklet, downloadable from www.asic.gov.au, uses a question-and-answer format, interwoven with practical examples of the investigations, disclosures and comparisons that advisers need to make if recommending clients change funds.
The booklet was developed with the help of the Investment and Financial Services Association and the Financial Planning Association, whose chief executive Kerrie Kelly said advisers would now know exactly what the ASIC requirements were.
“(The booklet) clearly states what does, and does not, fall within ASIC’s definition of super switching advice — something which has been lacking, but is essential to both financial advisers and their clients,” Kelly said.
The FPA repeated its advice to consumers that most should remain in their employer’s default fund after the July 1 introduction of choice, and not move without careful consideration and advice from an FPA member.
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