While the SMSF Association has stated it is pleased SMSFs are excluded from the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into banking and financial services, it hoped the commission would have no impact on financial advice reforms.
The association’s chief executive John Maroney said the SMSF sector had already been subject to scrutiny through other reviews.
“While the SMSF sector has been excluded from the Royal Commission’s inquiry, the sector has had significant scrutiny from the Cooper Review in 2010 and the Murray Inquiry in 2014 and emerged from both reviews with a high level of support and confidence in the sector,” Maroney said.
He said he hoped the Royal Commission would not hinder progress on necessary reforms in the financial advice sector that were already underway to improve educational and ethical standards for advisers.
“These reforms, which are strongly supported by the association, take effect from 1 January 2019 and will bring greater professionalism to the advice industry,” he noted.
Maroney added the Royal Commission would provide a further opportunity to increase transparency and improve ethics and professionalism across the financial services sector.
He said the wide-ranging scope of the Royal Commission, which the federal government announced last week, would trigger a comprehensive review to ensure any poor or unethical practices harming consumers would be weeded out.
SMSF Association welcomed the chance to participate in the Royal Commission to ensure the superannuation system maintained its integrity and professionalism when advising consumers.
