Push for SMSF standards to avoid regulator

Draft skill standards for advice on self managed super funds (SMSF) are being eagerly accepted by an industry hoping to avoid further regulation by theAustralian Securities and Investments Commission(ASIC).

The draft standards, assembled by the National Finance Industry Training Advisory Board (NFITAB), are currently being shopped to the industry nationwide in anticipation of adoption of finalised standards by the end of next month.

NFITAB national project director Deen Sanders says the draft is “out there for review and feedback, in order to get the standards validated”.

Sanders says the expectation is the draft will be validated - making it an industry accepted standard - by October.

The body has further hopes for the draft to be fully endorsed by early next year, which means training organisations will be able to grant qualifications based on the standards.

Sanders says the response so far has shown the industry to be eager for standards to be in place, largely to “circumvent moves by ASIC to put in place its own regulatory requirements”.

“The consensus seems to be that an industry agreed standard is better than having more regulations put in place, so the industry’s very eager,” Sanders says.

“Industry representatives from all over the place have been responding very positively and showing great uniformity on the issue.”

Sanders says having the standards endorsed should not prove to be an issue.

One point of interest raised by those reviewing the draft has been the high expectations placed on SMSF advisers.

“With the new guidelines, the expectations on SMSF advisers are very high - the standards are very complex and higher than any other we’ve seen,” Sanders says.

Correspondence from SMSF industry education provider The Strategist Group echoes this observation.

“The standards are based on the fact that trustees are not involved in the financial services arena. As such the level of knowledge and skills for providing advice in SMSFs is much higher than that of providing advice in superannuation where corporate and retail trustees are part of the financial services industry.”