Speaking exclusively to InvestorDaily, Statewide Super general manager member engagement Tony D’Alessandro said the deal with the AIOFP allows the fund to service its members outside its home state of South Australia with greater efficacy.
“Statewide is committed to ensuring that all of our members have access to the same level of service and quality advice, no matter where in Australia they live,” Mr D’Alessandro said.
“While we will continue to invest and support the growth of in our in-house financial planning service, partnering with AIOFP enables us to expand our advice network regionally and nationally without the prohibitive costs involved in establishing offices in regional and capital city locations across the country.”
Barbara Ryland, a former Local Super executive who now heads up industry fund partnerships at the AIOFP, said Statewide was attracted to the independently-owned, non-conflicted nature of the advisers within the AIOFP’s network.
“AIOFP’s strategy is to partner with industry funds in providing an independent, non-conflicted and geographically accessible advice network that is aligned with the funds’ core values and minimises the costs and risks involved,” Ms Ryland told InvestorDaily.
“In addition to our coverage in capital cities, our adviser base extends to regional areas, which gives us a national distribution capacity to provide services in geographic locations that cannot easily be covered by in-house advice services.”
This partnership model allows independently-owned financial advice organisations and industry super funds to better compete against the vertically-integrated financial institutions, Ms Ryland added.
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