Intra-fund advice class order hardly used
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has been told that the class order clearing the way for superannuation trustees to provide intra-fund advice has received little take-up in the time it has been available to the sector.
However it has been suggested the class order relief might have been more widely used if it had allowed fund trustees to grant access to related entities or other Australian Financial Services Licence holders.
In a submission to ASIC dealing with guidance on the scaling of advice, the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) acknowledged that the intra-fund advice class order was likely to be revoked as a result of the Government's Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) legislative changes.
The ASFA submission said the organisation accepted that the class order would be revoked "as it is clear that the take up for the class order has been low and that the full impact of the FOFA legislation is yet to be seen".
"However, it has also been pointed out that if the trustee model for accessing the relief was changed to one that allowed the relief to be accessed by another AFSL provider or related entity of the trustee, then the relief might be more widely used," the submission said.
Elsewhere in its submission, ASFA pointed out to ASIC that the FOFA legislation would make elements of its consultation paper providing guidance on scaled advice redundant.
AUTHOR
Mike Taylor
Recommended for you
ASIC has released the results of its first adviser exam to be held in 2025, with 241 candidates attempting the test.
Quarterly Wealth Data analysis has uncovered positive improvements in financial adviser numbers compared with losses in the prior corresponding period.
Holding portfolios that are too complex or personalised can be a detractor for acquirers of financial advice firms as they require too much effort to maintain post-acquisition.
As the financial advice profession continues to wait on further DBFO legislation, industry commentators have encouraged advisers to act now in driving practice efficiency.
