- Asteron Bonus Commission Offer
- Elixir Consulting FoFA Audit Program
- Consumers Confused About Planner Independence
Asteron Bonus Commission Offer
Asteron is offering advisers an additional 5% commission on the first year’s annual premium for products submitted through Lifeguard EQ. The offer became available on 18 July 2011.
Following the announcement that Asteron Life will be available on Colonial FirstState’s FirstChoice platform, the insurer has also made changes to its online application, Lifeguard EQ.
Advisers can now choose from two additional payment options: FirstChoice, or cheque. The latter is only available for products on Lifeguard EQ with a quarterly, half yearly or yearly payment frequency.
Asteron says it has also sped up the application process by allowing advisers to electronically attach documents to their clients’ applications from the Underwriting Decision screen.
Elixir Consulting FoFA Audit Program
Elixir Consulting has developed a program to help advisers determine if their practice is Future of Financial Advice reforms (FoFA) ready.
The FoFA-Ready Practice Audit tests the business’ reliance on trail commissions, and analyses how effectively it would function in a post-reform environment. Participants are then issued with a customised action plan to implement change within their practice.
Elixir Managing Director, Sue Viskovic, said the demand for a program like the Audit was high. “We’ve had a lot of feedback from both advisers and licensees that there is still a lot of fear around FoFA and whilst many advisers are taking a ‘wait and see’ approach to what the final legislation looks like, there are others who would like to get on the front foot and start adapting their business, but are not sure where to start, or what activities will have the greatest impact on their business.
“This audit allows advisers to cut through the ‘noise’ around FoFA and get some answers that are specifically designed for their business.”
Consumers Confused About Planner Independence
Australians are still confused about the independence of their advisers, according to consumer research house Roy Morgan.
In an update to its ‘Superannuation and Wealth Management in Australia’ report, the researcher found that Australians who acquired their superannuation through a financial planner are confused as to whether the planner they used is aligned to a major financial institution. Roy Morgan said this was especially prevalent for the licensee groups owned by one of the ‘Big 6’ retail groups, such as Garvan (NAB/MLC), Hillross (AMP), RetireInvest (ANZ) and Charter FP (AXA).
Norman Morris, Industry Communications Director at Roy Morgan, said the report raised issues around whether consumers are being informed by their advisers of their ties to a major wealth company.
“A client may be entering an advice relationship on the premise that the financial planner they are visiting is independent of any major financial institution, however this is clearly not always the case and the lack of independence regarding these planner’s approved products raises the question of whether the best interests of the client are always being served,” Mr Morris said.
