No-one in the industry could deny the industry superannuation fund 'compare the pair' campaign was very effective.
In simple language with uncomplicated concepts, the advertisements conveyed a powerful yet complex issue: that by paying commissions to advisers, retail superannuation funds meant higher fees and lower retirement savings.
Despite a brief hiccup with corporate regulator ASIC on the wording in the advertisement's disclaimer, the industry funds effectively dominated the debate. This left the retail industry grappling with how to capture the hearts of the public and in some quarters a blame game was underway.
"We'll never win an approval rating if we complain about 'woe is me' out there to the general public. Our tactic needs to be more forward looking," frustrated adviser Kevin Bailey said at the Wraps, Platforms and Masterfunds Conference last year.
It seems now the retail sector has adopted a forward-looking approach.
It looks like the outgoing chief of the Investment and Financial Services Association (IFSA), Richard Gilbert, will go out with a bang following the association's unveiling of its super charter last week.
Under the charter, trail commissions will be effectively weeded out of the system, allowing members to negotiate the price they pay for advice regarding superannuation.
"What it does is this: it strips 50 to 70 basis points off retail fees. It is the end of trail commissions and makes the industry more competitive," Gilbert said.
By ensuring greater transparency in the fee structure, he said there was now a more effective comparison between industry and retail funds.
Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees chief executive Fiona Reynolds said industry funds would still have lower fees.
Reynolds said she acknowledged the move by IFSA to introduce greater transparency had "the potential to deliver significant cost savings and an improved outcome for many Australians".
However, Reynolds said the charter would not be applied retrospectively.
Many existing retail fund members would continue to pay trailing commissions to financial advisers for years to come, she said.
Fundamentally, conflicts of interest between advisers and financial institutions were still not addressed in the charter, she said.
By comparing the pair, retail funds still have much to do in the way of ensuring advice is provided in the best interest of members.
"If we just simply replace a commission with a fee, without removing the inherent conflicts of interest that are built into the current relationships between some financial institutions and the financial planners they employ, then little will be achieved," Reynolds said.
