ASIC weak on super fee disclosure: ISA
Industry Super Australia (ISA) has warned that the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s (ASIC’s) latest recommendations on super fee disclosure don’t go far enough, while also questioning the regulator’s decision to release the fee consultation before the Royal Commission’s recommendations are handed down, which may well cover the issue.
The industry group said that the proposals released by ASIC yesterday would only further complicate the current disclosure regime, slamming them particularly for not recommending an end to the current disclosure regime.
It also said that the regulator’s efforts to address the relevant consumer comparability concerns were “similarly disappointing”.
The proposals would require platform providers to include a “prominent statement” in fees and costs templates, advising that disclosed fees simply relate to “gaining access” to the underlying products, without factoring in the ongoing costs of those products.
“The concept of including a ‘prominent statement’ is, to be blunt, a cop-out,” ISA director of research and campaigns, Nick Coates, said.
“It’s essentially just a warning to members that what you see is not what you get when it comes to platform fees. This simply continues to place consumers at risk, rendering it almost impossible to make meaningful comparisons between products.”
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