Whiteley refuses detail on cost of ISN advertising

Industry Super Network (ISN) chief executive David Whiteley has refused to detail what his organisation is spending on national television advertising beyond saying it "miniscule" when measured against what is being extracted in commissions in the financial services industry.

Sitting on a panel at the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) national conference on the Gold Coast on Sunday, Whiteley refused to be drawn on how much the ISN campaign was costing, saying he doubted whether such information would be made public by other groups.

Under questioning on the panel, the ISN chief executive also suggested that financial planners were only prompted to ask the questions because they disliked the content of the advertisements.

Other panelists had earlier suggested that industry superannuation funds had been placed in a privileged position by the Government which had chosen to treat the superannuation industry differently.

The president of the AFA, Brad Fox, had earlier used his opening address to the AFA conference to ask whether the ISN would be prepared to accept an olive branch from the industry and act to promote the value of advice.

Later, Whiteley acknowledged that industry superannuation funds were now providing financial advice and pointed out that a number of the planners providing that advice were members of the Financial Planning Association (FPA).