ASIC has revealed that few superannuation funds have applied for an extension of their Australian financial services licence (AFSL) in the wake of the federal government's intra-fund advice announcement.
"Since the announcement only a few funds have applied to extend their AFSL to provide limited personal fund product advice under the new relief provisions," ASIC superannuation senior manager Stephen Rowe said at a recent Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST) event in Melbourne.
However, ASIC remained encouraged by the response and Rowe said "it's still very early days".
"ASIC hopes to provide greater certainty to trustees when providing personal advice to members about their existing interest in their current superannuation fund and encourage trustees to provide more information, general and personal advice to members."
In July ASIC released the Regulatory Guidance 200 (RG 200) to financial advisers, super fund trustees and outsourced advice providers about how to comply with the Corporations Act when giving information and advice about existing interest in a super fund.
At the same time, ASIC also released Class Order Relief 09/210 (ASIC CO 09/210) that outlined where trustees could provide intra-fund advice on certain limited topics.
At the symposium, Rowe clarified that the categories of information and advice have not changed and RG 200 simply aimed to restate what they are.
"You do not need an AFSL to give factual information to members. You can provide factual information to a member even if you have some information about their personal circumstances," Rowe said.
At the time of the decision, Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) chief executive Pauline Vamos said people had not taken the time to read the ASIC announcement and class order properly.
"Financial planners need to see the opportunity here. They need to develop a relationship with super trustees and perhaps look at how they provide single-issue advice services to outsource to super funds," Vamos said.
