In a statement issued today, ISA announced that Industry SuperFunds has launched a new version of the ‘Compare the Pair’ advertising campaign, which it says has been one of the “finance sector’s most influential consumer awareness campaigns”.
The increased advertising activity comes “amidst government proposals to wind-back key elements” of the FOFA reforms, the statement says.
“The prospect of weakened consumer protection just serves to strengthen the case for boosting Australians’ awareness about how they can protect and grow their super savings,” said ISA chief David Whiteley.
“Allowing financial advisers to once receive a range of sales commissions will eat into the savings of many Australians, and that’s something consumers should take into account when they’re thinking about which fund offers the best performance.”
[quote name=”Pavel”][quote name=”Bemused”]
Wow, you got me. I bet your great at Cludo too![/quote]
lol, relax Pavel, all good fun, lets all try to focus on peace and goodwill, I apologise for my little dig, the future lies with accountants and financial planners working together in the best interests of our clients, and for the record, I’m an accountant as well, I run the FP side of the business and have never charged our clients anything but a reasonable hourly rate.
[quote name=”Bemused”]
Wow, you got me. I bet your great at Cludo too!
Thanks Steven, I absolutely agree – with your penultimate sentence.
[quote name=”Pavel”]
Hmmmm? What’s the bet Pavel is just another accountant with a bee in his bonnet about losing the accountants exemption come 2016!
[quote name=”Pavel”]Come on gents, next you’ll be telling me Industry funds are responsible for global warming, coal mine fires, alien abductions and whatever else your victim mentality congers up.
Pavel, facts I quoted about Industry Fudns having a higher rate of Member complaints compared to Retail are from the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal’s Annual Report.
As we know, matters addressed by SCT are not trivial by any means.
How convenient you choose to ignore this important issue and divert attention altogether.
So much for looking after your Members interests.
Facts v your assertions – doesn’t add up.
But enough from me. This discussion has become quite childish.
Perhaps consumers should ask who is paying for these ‘influential consumer campaigns’?
[quote name=”Pavel”]Come on gents, next you’ll be telling me Industry funds are responsible for global warming, coal mine fires, alien abductions and whatever else your victim mentality congers up.[/quote]
Nah, we don’t have time to think up those kind of fairy tales. We are too busy assisting real clients who need real advice. We will instead leave this rhetoric up to the Industry Funds…they don’t have any real advice to offer. You get what you pay for.
Pavel
lets talk–are apples being compared or apples and pears, most of your funds ( if you look) are bank backed funds, your limited range of funds cannot be compared to what we planners blend AND subsequently DO outperform your funds. Horses for courses and you get what you pay for in the end. By the way, your insurance offer doesn’t even hit the radar to be compared and that is fact.
Enjoy while you can and offer real facts not rhetoric.
Come on gents, next you’ll be telling me Industry funds are responsible for global warming, coal mine fires, alien abductions and whatever else your victim mentality congers up.
Not that I care really, but here’s some facts to throw on your next conspiracy theory BBQ:
Industry funds miraculously seem to cont to outperform retail funds over long periods despite the mountains of money you guys say are being burned up on TV campaigns – wow, seems they are able to do both!!
industry funds do not have bank sanctioned APLs laden with in house product that by even the regulator’s own assessment makes up to majority of product SOLD to clients
Roy Morgan research has FPs ranking slightly higher than journos and talk back radio shock jocks, but behind public servants and lawyers I’m the latest professional image surveys.
Think me and my very happy clients prefer my facts to yours.
Pavel, let’s talk facts.
Question – which type of fund gets more complaints at the SCT – both in total volume and on a per million Members basis?
Is it retail funds or is it industry funds?
Answer – industry funds.
All the $$$ spent on ‘consumer awareness’ wont fix that problem.
Given the industry funds sub-standard performance in this area, they should be working WITH advisers not against them.
Pavel, the main reason advisers rate poorly among the public, is due to a 10 year long campaign from the Industry funds, designed to undermine our profession. Numerous surveys of actual financial planning clients, have found our clients rate us very highly, on par with the most trusted professions in society. It is sad that many Australians will miss out on the advice they need, due to Industry Fund fear and propoganda. It is scandalous that the so-called ‘Not-for-profit’ funds are allowed to waste their PROFITS on negative propoganda designed to keep their members away from independent, professional advice that many of their members need.
Industry funds, we don’t pay advisers who are educated and experienced & can assist you achieve your financial goals, we prefer to spend members money on advertising agencies and television prime time which does nothing to benefit members but rather lures them into a false sense of security that the little they have is sufficient to fund a comfortable retirement. To call this “consumer awareness” is a travesty.
Great riposte panel, you certainly have addressed the issues errr swept them under the carpet sang la la la and pretended they weren’t real concerns.
Your independence is clearly NOT EVIDENT.
Go back to your union sponsored (member funded) plush office and keep twiddling those thumbs, that generates value doesn’t it!
Ha, ha, ha, when are you guys ever going to learn, the ISA know exactly how to drill into your exposed nerve around compare the pair, conflicted advice, etc and have done it yet again, very successfully judging by the bile that passes for comment on this site.
Little wonder Australians rate Planners and our profession as one of the least trustworthy and integral amoungst all others, including used car and insurance salesman!!!
What about spending that money on getting some good advice for your members? or better still, use it for redundancy payments for the fools who run the funds and who are no longer doing what they are paid to do.
so tell me how the industry funds can justify spending money on advertising fighting a reform that is so minor in the scheme of things, how is this in their members Best interests? how is this using the funds of the members to fund their retirement? how is this meeting the obligations of a trustee in terms of getting the bests return?
the industry funds network is all about self interest and supporting the unions, 1. get as many union board members on the fund, 2. get the government to mandate only industry funds in awards 3. ride the union controlled industry fund gravy train until the cows come home 4. product false and misleading information to blind the masses what a joke.
FALSE and MISLEADING advertising is against the law in so many ways. lets see what they put up and then react. Unions and ISNs do not have the protection of parliament, if they propagate lies- lets the law knock them out. if not- lets get a kitty going and see if we can’t cause some damage with FACTS that are not lies. In the meantime- don’t waste energy on idiots.
So the Industry Funds Australia are going to ramp up their campaign against advisers. Maybe they should clean up their own backyard first. I recommend they have a look at the last CBUS annual report. If they did they would find that:
The fund has 17 Board members, 9 union members, 7 Master Builders members and one independent. There is a subsidiary property company with 7 directors including 4 from the CBUS fund, a total of 20 directors. Compare this to the AMP with 10 and the CBA, Australias biggest company, with 11.
Total directors fees are almost $2 million including superannuation. Of this around $500,000 was paid to the unions. So it appears that the more directors a fund has, the more revenue the union receives.
And this is only one of many industry funds. There needs to be an inquiry into all industry funds to see how much revenue is flowing to the unions and how their members are being ripped off.
What hypocrites the ISA are.
What about the cost of the ISN advertising campaign eating into members returns???
Industry funds charge clients nothing for their services…..well, I guess that they are best placed to determine the worth of the value they add to their clients?
Nothing FOR nothing?
When are APRA going to do their job and stop ISA spending members funds on what can only be described as a dishonest propaganda campaign from the leftist union funds. How can this be validly called using members funds under the Sole Purpose Test. This is a disgrace and all regulators in this area need to step up to the plate and prosecute this socialist organisation. If we told blatant lies to the public like they are doing we would have ASIC down on us like a ton of bricks. Of course having the socialist left ABC and Fairfax media also running a scare mongering campaign just shows how corrupt these organisations are also. If they were telling the truth about the proposed changes fine, but these are all blatant lies.
nothing like best interest of clients, when is this us versus them going to end. I provide a service & i expect to get paid, we are not a charity. Does the member of Industry based fund getting any advice for the fee they pay???. Talk to most clients they were given a form by the employer tick the box. How do they get away with it. The FPA & AFA & should ran a educational advertising campaign on the benefits of paying a fee service for advice. Scaled advice is great if you want only want advice on super but what about all the other areas. Sick of BS, about time the Govt step in. As this BS was caused with FOFA by the passed govt. I agree that reforms a need but this is BS
Morons! like spoiled kids that didnt get what they want. I just hope the government stops forced union employee contibutions to ISA funds and forced unionism. Dont get me wrong, unions have their place, in ensuring this are safe and people are looked after. However the unions are not in the places where employees have little power.
R.I.P. Industry Funds.
Consumers want & need Advice.
Always have, Always will.
Who is paying for the ADVERTISING COSTS Mr Whiteley??? Is it not true that your movement(and I wont say what type of movement )is second only to Coles & Wollies in your annual multi million dollar advertising budgets!if your products stack up then why is your only approach to tell porkies all day long about main stream financial planing in a low, false and totally misleading way? was it not your MTAA that not long ago lost $50 million of your captured clients money in failed direct property investments! you need to have a good hard look in the mirror Mr Whiteley
When will they wake up that we are not their enemy. If they opened their doors and were transparent then they should be happy to pay us for providing clients with advice. For this is what we do – provide advice and strategies to grow and protect their wealth. Returns are important but not the only reason to stay or move. Shouldn’t the consumer be able to make an informed decision not just go on about the fees?
Maybe they are in panic mode? If the SMSF sector is the real beneficiary then bring it on I say. I am fed up with this mob who claim “not for profit” rather than tell the truth of paying themselves and subsidiaries large amounts…otherwise why put up insurance premiums by so much? surely to pay for expensive negative TV ads. And they wonder why we don’t recommend them..mmmm
The ISN misinformation continues, its really sad that the best public information campaign it can mount is one which promotes fear and encourages ongoing disengagement – really a sad indictment.
Aren’t they nice! More misinformation to create unrest with the public.
How is this advertising spend by a not for profit fund in the best interest of the member? Answer me that ISA?
isn’t their pitch to consumers that they run their super funds only for members benefits? Who is paying for these adverts and where is the money coming from? Members returns no doubt, and how is that for the benefit of their members. If they do everything right and everyone else does everything so wrong, their own members shouldn’t have to pay for them to tell the world the Govt (Liberal Govt) are so bad.
Will they also ramp up the announcements that many Industry funds have increased insurance costs by 35% -75% on their insurance programs or will they hope that their members don’t read the letters going out to them.
If ISA loses it’s cheaper insurance tag then the exodus to SMSFs could become an avalanche.
Wonder how the astronomical cost of a campaign like this will be funded?
I suppose the ISA would just reach into their own pockets, since they’re such humanitarians.
Given that the compare the pair adverts should have been banned a very long time ago, I do wonder what the new adverts will look like. Truly a disgrace.