Planners win rare industry fund applause

The Financial Planning Association (FPA) has won a rare accolade from a major superannuation fund, with Tasmanian-based Tasplan praising the efforts of the FPA to improve planner fee transparency.

Tasplan’s general manager Neil Cassidy said the FPA’s move represented a significant step towards removing questionable practices in an industry that, in the past, had been rife with undisclosed commissions and fee discounting linked to the use of particular investment products.

“I know that industry superannuation funds like Tasplan have taken a swipe at some financial planners in the past for lack of fee disclosure and secret deals with investment managers, but any move by the FPA to push fee transparency to higher levels is to be welcomed,” he said.

In a bid to improve planner fee transparency and give consumers more control over charges and commissions, the FPA has launched a set of principles to be observed by its members including planners identifying their advice fee separately in their statement of advice and disclosing total fees for ongoing advice on a regular basis.

Cassidy said the reforms were long overdue and that any undisclosed benefit paid to a financial planner arising from their dealings with clients was a conflict and had to be banned.