ASFA supports adviser involvement

The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) has supported moves that would make it easier for financial advisers to assist clients who are members of superannuation funds to select appropriate investments.

In a submission to the Australian Securities and InvestmentsCommission relating to the regulator’s policy review on Investor Directed Portfolio Services, ASFA said it supported the proposal to permit superannuation fund trustees to allow disclosure documents to be given to a client’s agent, even if the agent was an associate of the operator of the entity.

The ASFA submission said it also supported a proposal that would give relief enabling an Australian Financial Services licensee or an authorised representative of the licensee to act as an agent to receive a Product Disclosure Statement.

The submission noted that many superannuation fund members who invested in accessible investments through their superannuation funds used financial advisers to assist them in selecting appropriate investments.

“In such cases, the proposed mechanism would be convenient for both the client and the fund,” the ASFA submission said.

However, it said that ASFA’s support was conditional upon the implementation of consumer protection mechanisms requiring the agent to enter into a contract binding them to pass on the disclosure documents or modifying the Act to require agents to give the relevant disclosure documents to their clients.