Russell Investments has committed to limited financial advice through the appointment of a head of its Advice Centre.
Steve Wright joins Russell from Sunsuper, where he worked as a senior financial adviser. Russell stated that the appointment was a result of significant changes to its member administration model, which saw it bring in-house over 75 roles previously outsourced to IBM.
Wright will be responsible for providing advice to superannuation members on investment choice, contribution strategies and transition-to-retirement strategies. His appointment demonstrates Russell’s commitment to the delivery of limited advice, according to director of administration and consulting services, Siva Sivakumaran.
“We firmly believe all members should have access to financial advice through superannuation and that Steve’s background and experience is a perfect fit for our model,” he said.
Russell also announced that AvSuper was the first to go live with Russell’s new administration platform, while Prime Super appointed Russell to deliver administration services to its 150,000 members — a partnership that will begin in January 2012.
The future of superannuation policy remains uncertain, with further reforms potentially on the horizon as the Albanese government seeks to curb the use of superannuation as a bequest vehicle.
Superannuation funds will have two options for charging fees for the advice provided by the new class of adviser.
The proposed reforms have been described as a key step towards delivering better products and retirement experiences for members, with many noting financial advice remains the “urgent missing piece” of the puzzle.
APRA’s latest data has revealed that superannuation funds spent $1.3 billion on advice fees, with the vast majority sent to external financial advisers.