Referral system won't threaten independence: IPA
The Institute of Public Accountants (IPA's) affiliation with MLC and AMP/AXA will not threaten its members' independence, says IPA general manager Vicki Stylianou.
IPA members will be provided with online referrals to financial planners from the two institutions as part of the IPA's Financial Services Package.
"A lot of our members say 'I don't want to be thrown into [MLC and AMP/AXA] products', but it is very much not just their products," Stylianou said.
She pointed out that very few of the products on the two groups' Approved Product Lists were manufactured in-house.
"Something like two out of 30-35 of the products are theirs. That was one of the things we looked at very closely, because it was one of the biggest concerns of our members," Stylianou said.
Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICA) head of superannuation Liz Westover said it was "unfortunate" that a lot of accounting firms had "gone down the path" of establishing their own referral systems with financial planners.
"A lot of accountants say to me that they want to maintain their independence. They don't want to be affiliated with a financial planning dealer group because it might muddy the waters," she said.
Many accountants tend to have relationships with financial planners away from their practices, she added.
"But even when you refer off to a financial planner, the funny thing is (and if I had a dollar for every time this happened to me) the number of times they come back with that plan and say 'what do you think?'" Westover said.
As the law currently stands, Westover said, accountants cannot tell their clients what they think of the plan - they can only advise on the tax aspects.
The ICA has been lobbying the Government for a replacement to the accountants' exemption (which allows accountants to advise on the set-up and closure of self-managed superannuation funds) that gives accountants broader scope to provide basic "strategic" advice themselves, Westover said.
For example, she said, accountants should be able to advise their clients to contribute an extra $20 per week into their superannuation - rather than having to refer the client to a financial planner.
"Getting your clients to spend several thousand dollars [on financial advice] to get potentially $20 a week into superannuation doesn't make sense," Westover said.
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