Anti-adviser industry fund campaign simplistic: AFA

The Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) has hit back at the industry super funds’ campaign against adviser fees, saying their approach is simplistic and draws attention away from their own conflicted fee structures.

The AFA national president, Brad Fox, responded to the Industry Super Network (ISN)-commissioned research released last week, which asserted consumers would be $82,000 better off over a 40-year period without paying fees to financial advisers, by saying that was a “blatant attempt to shift attention away from industry funds’ own opaque administration fees.”

 “That’s less that the cost of a cup of coffee and a biscuit a day, and yet the difference that strategic financial advice can make to a client’s financial situation over the same period of time can translate to much higher superannuation balances and significantly better protection against the financial impact of early death, disablement and serious illness,” Fox said.

Fox said the industry funds’ rhetoric purposely ignored the impact and value of strategic financial advice to further its own agenda.

“It’s hypocritical on their part to argue for transparency around adviser remuneration when they do not themselves disclose how they are spending the admin fees they charge their members,” Fox said.

“The wages of call centre advisers providing intra-fund advice to members must be paid somehow. If not from member fees, then how?”

Responding to the ISN chief David Whiteley’s (pictured) comments from last week about the ‘crisis of confidence’ in the financial planning industry, Fox said the AFA-commissioned consumer research issued last year found exactly the opposite.