Industry superannuation funds are treading a fine line in their efforts to capture and retain the high net worth (HNW) market.
The FPA has voiced its concerns over the provision of advice to this group, with chief executive Jo-Anne Bloch saying there was a fine line between providing information and personal advice.
“We would be very disappointed if business development managers or educators from superannuation funds were out there simply talking about education and information but calling it advice,” Bloch told InvestorDaily.
Equipsuper recently hired a personal superannuation account manager to focus on providing premium superannuation services to Equip’s high-value members.
“In a similar way to the private banking model, our aim is to be in regular and personal contact with our high-value clients,” Equipsuper client relations manager John Farrington said.
If superannuation funds build an in-house advice division, Centric Wealth chief investment strategist Robert Keavney said fund members would need to satisfy themselves the advice was not biased in favour of related product.
“Everybody seems to claim they focus on it (HNW) but it is not a defined term. For most advisers a multi-million sum would be the lowest level at which this term might apply,” Keavney said.
