Sunsuper’s new referral partnership with the Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA) is the latest in a number of recent financial advice tie-ups between super funds and financial planning licensees.
The program sees Sunsuper retain its in-house team of advisers in Queensland and Sydney and add direct relationships with adviser practices nationwide which share the fund’s philosophy of always acting in members’ best interests.
It shares a number of characteristics with the tie-up the FPA formed with Cbus in May this year, when it was announced a pilot program connecting FPA Professional Practices with Cbus members would be rolled out nationally.
These practices must have a 75 per cent rate of FPA membership among their planners, and 50 per cent or more need to have a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation.
“My overall view is that this is a good thing. You’ve got the industry fund movement reaching out to the financial planning sector to work together on fair and equal terms, and then you’ve got the financial planners improving retirement outcomes for members,” says Tom Reddacliff, a consultant to the FPA, who helped during the initial stages of the FPA-Sunsuper partnership.
He was also actively involved in helping construct the FPA-Cbus partnership earlier this year. Reddacliff, as former head of financial planning licensee Godfrey Pembroke, also played a role in the deal struck between Australian Super and financial planning licensees Godfrey Pembroke, Matrix Planning Solutions, Dixon Advisory, Woods and Partners, Paul Moran and Switzer Financial Planning in August 2011.
“At the time, with Australian Super, that was the first one of its kind, and that was seen as mission impossible, but it was mission possible because all three parties – the licensees, the advisers and Australian Super – patiently worked together.
“The key is, everyone’s got to put everything on the table, to openly discuss what they’re trying to achieve, any concerns they have, what the rules of engagement are. Get it all out there, then you can make it work,” he says.
The deal between Sunsuper and the FPA has been brokered by Michael Mulholland, executive general manager, growth and advice at Sunsuper, who joined the fund from NAB Wealth six months ago where he led NAB’s New South Wales adviser force.
Mulholland sees growth potential from national employers with head offices in Sydney and Melbourne. “Large national employers want geographical coverage for their employees and for their super fund to have vetted the advisers to make sure they are of sufficient quality,” he says.
“Some employers have a very parental way of looking at their employees and want professional advice for them.”
The deal with the FPA will seek to broker favourable advice fees for Sunsuper members.
“Employers want a super offer that not only ticks the boxes of returns and low fees, but helps them deliver their own internal proposition for employees,” he said.
The deal between Sunsuper and the FPA was announced two days before the Coalition government saw its bid to curtail the full impact of Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) reforms voted down in the Senate.
Mulholland says this is reassuring. “The vote clearly acts in the consumers best interest, it gives extra safeguards and ensures that consumers are in control of any fees they are paying, that they understand it and advisors act in their best interest.”
He adds that despite the FoFA reforms, many advisers had already moved to work on a ‘best interest’ philosophy for their clients anyway.
