SPAA opposes ban on asset-based fees

The Self-Managed Super Fund Professionals’ Association of Australia (SPAA) does not support the ban on asset-based fees that has been proposed by the Accounting Professional and Ethical Standards Board (APESB).

The APESB governs the rules by which many professional accountants must conduct themselves, and SPAA chief executive Andrea Slattery said its current exposure draft imposes “unreasonable and unsustainable” obligations on some SPAA members — particularly those accountants working as financial planners.

“The SPAA is committed to the highest professional standards, therefore we support the APESB’s proposed ban on commissions,” she said. “However, unlike the APESB, we support a [self-managed super fund] adviser’s right to charge asset-based fees for service where these are not embedded or set by the product provider. As long as the fee has not been set by the product provider, advisers should have the right to charge a fee which has been agreed to by the client and reflects the services provided.”

Slattery highlighted the fact that the Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) reforms package does not propose a ban on asset-based fees, noting that the proposed APESB standard is set to be implemented a year before the FOFA reforms and that the Government consultation process would highlight other issues that should be considered before the release of the exposure draft.