SPAA cautions against over-reaction
The SMSF Professionals' Association of Australia (SPAA) has cautioned against any over-reaction following the release of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) report into professional advice in the self-managed super fund sector.
As an opening comment, Andrea Slattery, chief executive officer of SPAA, said she welcomed the report as it would help ensure higher professional standards of advice in the self-managed super fund (SMSF) sector.
"But SPAA believes that the limited nature of the report means not too much should be read into it," she said.
"The research is based on only 100 pieces of advice to low-balance SMSFs, plus those advisers that are prolific spruikers of property and borrowing and those that have had consumer complaints made against them.
"This is a very small subset of SMSF advice, only addressing the really risky end of advice to the SMSF industry."
Slattery said that given the sector's population of almost 500,000 SMSFs, ASIC's research should not be regarded as defining all professional advice in the SMSF space.
"But it will be useful in determining what the regulator sees as risks to watch out for, and provide SMSF advisers with an example of what ASIC expects of them," she said.
"The report also shows that consumers should seek SMSF specialist advice to ensure that they are getting the best quality advice best suited to their individual circumstances.
"We have always advocated that competent and specialised SMSF advisers focussed on improving advice standards can lead our industry," Slattery continued.
"This will continue to build the profession, especially through our SPAA SMSF Specialists Advisors and Auditor designations.
"We look forward to continuing to work with regulators and the profession to continuously improve the standard of SMSF advice."
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