best interests duty

A principled approach to advice regulation is clearly the way forward for advisers, Neil Sparks says. But what’s missing in the discussion is how beneficial the Quality of Advice Review output will also be for consumers.

The advice review lead had said she wouldn’t comment on the recommendations while the government pondered its response. But with the consultation dragging on, she urged the government to get it done and let ASIC do the refinement.

In Levy’s new world, conflicts and vertical integration are likely to be accommodated by a new statutory best interests duty with a broader scope and a lower, more flexible bar in an effort to bring advice to the masses.

Levy made no major deviations in her final suite of proposals, with Treasury left to mull on a blueprint for reform that should usher in a less prescriptive, two-tiered advice regime. But there are a few tweaks that might raise eyebrows.

Fee raises at the nation’s biggest super fund have raised questions about the benefits of scale. If Australian Super has to increase fees, what chance do smaller funds have?