Research house Chant West and the Financial Advice Association Australia (FAAA) have jointly launched an accreditation that assesses how effectively a superannuation fund is supporting external financial advisers.
The Adviser-Ready Fund was developed with input from FAAA members to determine which criteria were most import for financial advisers to be able to best support clients who are fund members.
“A panel of FAAA members who use all types of superannuation products – including SMSFs, platforms and pooled vehicles such as retail and ‘profit-to-member’ super funds – were involved in developing the key assessment criteria. This helps ensure that the criteria are focused on what advisers actually need to assist their clients,” FAAA chief executive Sarah Abood explained.
The initiative sees funds assessed against 24 criteria whereby at least 16 of them need to be met in order to achieve the accreditation. The criteria include access to clients’ super fund holding information (via an adviser portal); the ability to transact on behalf of clients, including digital signatures and consents; key product features that support the delivery of tailored advice in relation to super; the ability to deduct advice fees and third-party adviser support through dedicated contact centres.
Chant West general manager Ian Fryer said his organisation shared a commitment with the FAAA to create a stronger alignment between the work of the super and advice sectors.
“It is critical that more Australian consumers have access to great financial advice. The Adviser-Ready Fund accreditation will help ensure that more consumers have choice about how they access advice and that advisers can find the information they need to support their clients,” Fryer suggested.
Superannuation funds that have already received the certification for 2026 are AMP MyNorth, Australian Retirement Trust – Super Savings, Aware Super, Brighter Super, BT Panorama, CFS Edge, CFS FirstChoice, Expand, Hub24, Macquarie, MLC MasterKey and Netwealth.
