Govt seeks fee disclosure resolution from associations
By Jason Spits
TheParliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer, Ross Cameron, has written to the chief executives of both theAssociation of Superannuation Funds of Australia(AFSA) and theInvestment and Financial Services Association(IFSA) seeking to resolve a deadlock over single fee disclosure on superannuation and investment products.
In his letter to IFSA chief Richard Gilbert and ASFA chief Philippa Smith, Cameron has given the two associations a month to come up with a mutually agreed upon single figure fee disclosure model to be presented to the Government.
Cameron says the Government will then prepare regulations to incorporate the model within disclosure documents by July 1, the date by which fees must be disclosed under the Financial Services Reform Act.
According to a statement released by Cameron’s office, the Government has not indicated a leaning to any model currently proposed by any industry group.
The statement also says in the event that industry groups cannot agree on a model, the Government will take action with what it deems is an appropriate disclosure model for the protection of consumers.
The debate surrounding single figure fee disclosure was heard in Canberra earlier this month before the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Corporations and Financial Services. IFSA, ASFA, theFinancial Planning Associationand theAssociation of Financial Advisershave entered submissions.
Most submissions focused on a system proposed by theAustralian Securities and Investment Commission(ASIC) which was seen as too difficult to implement, was not straight-forward and failed to be easily understood by the public.
The submissions also sought an extension on the implementation date for the disclosure model from July 1, 2004, to July 1, 2005.
AUTHOR
Jason Spits
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