Industry fund Equipsuper has momentarily shelved plans to introduce intra-fund advice to its members, with the fund planning to now offer limited advice through its financial planning division.
“What we have resolved is that we probably won’t go down the intra-fund advice road,” Equipsuper manager of communications Geoff Brooks said.
Brooks said the fund was in the early stages of development, with an exact fee structure and an overall advice model yet to be finalised.
“We certainly won’t use the Mercer call centre to deal with that [limited advice] and we’re still working out the model precisely – whether we’ll charge or not. But we will offer limited advice through Equipsuper Financial Planning,” he said.
Brooks said as part of the fund’s development of its limited advice model, Equipsuper Financial Planning is also considering offering advice outside of superannuation.
“What we’re looking at is trying to give it [Equipsuper Financial Planning] a differentiated entity to the fund so that it is a little bit more standalone, but underlying that we may look over the longer term to expand the advice it might offer outside of superannuation,” he said.
“These are all things that are still very much in the early planning stages. The next cab off the rank will certainly be a way of delivering limited advice through Equipsuper and how we’re going to offer it.”
Equipsuper first mentioned it would introduce an intra-fund advice service to its members in March this year.
