Introduction
Financial Planning in Australia is a thoroughly regulated field, with financial planners being obliged to follow numerous government guidelines and requirements. Various reviews have been performed on the Financial Planning regulations in the country, with the latest conducted in 2019by the Royal Commission into Misconduct in Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services. This report will consider two case studies concerning Superannuation and examine the recommendations made by the Royal Commission and whether they were realized.
AMP Limited Case Study
AMP Limited is a financial services company based in Australia. The firm is a holding company that owns the stock of AMP Superannuation Limited (ASL) and NM Superannuation Proprietary Limited (NM) (Royal Commission, 2019b). The company was included in the Royal Commission report due to ASL and NM releasing the trustee duties of their funds because of the AMP Group membership (Royal Commission, 2019b). During the investigation, several critical findings in the conduct of AMP Limited were made. The inquiry found that the ASL and NM outsource a significant proportion of their powers and duties to other players within the AMP Group (Royal Commission, 2019b). All the functions of ASL and NM, including the collection of funds, trust management, and investments, are performed by outside parties, including AMP Life. The report discovered numerous administrative, advice, and investment fees charged to the members against the cash balance in their accounts. The costs charged to the members are received by other firms within the AMP Group, to which ASL and NM have outsourced their duties (Royal Commission, 2019b). Overall, ASL and NM are passive to the decisions of other AMP Group stakeholders.
The Royal Commission report provides several recommendations to the AMP as a holding company for ASL and NM and other companies with similar transgressions. The primary suggestion is to increase reporting between the trustees and the organizations to which their powers and duties are outsourced (Royal Commission, 2019a). It is recommended to ensure that the outsourcing is performed in the members’ interests and is no detriment to their financial investment with the company. Finally, it is advised to cancel advice fees deduction from the cash balance of the members (Royal Commission, 2019a). As of 2020, AMP Life remains in charge of the day-to-day operations of ASL (AMP Superannuation Limited, 2021). Both ASL and NM are prepared to terminate their outsourcing arguments if they prove inappropriate and damaging to the members’ interests.
Hostplus Pty Limited Case Study
Hostplus is another company the conduct of which was reviewed by the Royal Commission. Hostplus, a superannuation fund for sports and hospitality industries in Australia, was included in the report because of its questionable member retention strategies and the use of funds to attract new employers and contracts (Royal Commission, 2019b). The Royal Commission discovered that Hostplus spent over $260,000 on corporate entertainment to retain and acquire new employers and grow the funds available to the company (Royal Commission, 2019b). Hostplus focused its member retention strategies on customers with inactive accounts to prevent the transfer of their funds to the Australian Tax Office (ATO) (Royal Commission, 2019b). The inactive members were not fully informed of the transfer of funds to ATO and its impact on their retirement savings. Moreover, retaining inactive clients translated into tax benefits for the company. Thus, it can be asserted that Hostplus was not entirely truthful with its clients and engaged in dubious retention tactics.
The Royal Commission recommended improving the company’s communication with its members, making it more transparent and outlining all retirement savings options. In addition, section 68A of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act should be revisited to ensure that employers do not influence the superannuation choices of their subordinates (Royal Commission, 2019b). As of 2021, it is unclear whether Hostplus amended its communication strategies with its members.
References
AMP Superannuation Limited. (2021). Directors’ report and Financial report for the year ended 31 December 2020. Web.
Royal Commission. (2019a). Final Report. Volume 1. Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry. Web.
Royal Commission. (2019b). Final Report. Volume 2: Case studies. Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry. Web.