Remuneration scrutiny won't be contained to planners



Industry superannuation funds have acknowledged that the remuneration scrutiny directed at financial planners will ultimately shift to salaries paid to super fund executives.
Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST) officer Andrew Barr has told the Conference of Major Superannuation Funds that the scrutiny on remuneration may result in “the blowtorch being turned back on us”.
Explaining the AIST’s approach to the Cooper review, he said the likelihood of scrutiny being turned onto fund executive remuneration has resulted in a recommendation that funds make the information public. Barr said the AIST was recommending that member funds publish the remuneration of their top five executives in aggregate.
However, he said it would be open to funds to provide more details if they saw fit.
Barr said the AIST has also recommended that superannuation ratings houses make their commercial arrangements with funds more transparent.
He said that if a fund has paid to be rated, members should be made aware of the nature of the transaction.
Recommended for you
BT is to launch a new low-cost “Focus” investment menu for its Panorama platform this October, in partnership with Vanguard, seeking to compete with industry superannuation funds.
Net gains of financial advisers have already doubled since the start of FY25, according to this week’s Padua Wealth Data, with momentum gathering pace far faster than the previous financial year.
National advice firm MiQ Private Wealth has appointed a new chief executive to lead the business through a “transformative era” after penning a partnership deal with AZ NGA earlier this month.
WT Financial’s managing director, Keith Cullen, believes the firm’s Hubco model with Merchant Wealth Partners will be a “repeatable growth model” for the business as it scales its adviser numbers.