05-148 Industry Fund Services agrees to change advertising
Friday 3 June 2005
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) today accepted an enforceable undertaking from Industry Fund Services Pty Ltd (IFS) in relation to its super choice advertising campaigns 'Compare the pair' and 'A lifetime of difference'.
'ASIC was concerned that consumers might have been confused by the advertisements as previously published, and is pleased that IFS has changed its advertising in response to our concerns', Mr Jeremy Cooper, Deputy Chairman of ASIC, said.
IFS has, without accepting ASIC's views, undertaken to refrain from:
- using projections of retirement payouts or future fund balances applying comparisons of current or past fees or average fees, unless these projections were properly qualified, and
- representing that the only relevant factor for comparisons of different super funds, in the context of projections of retirement payouts or future fund balances, is the fees charged by the operator of the fund.
On 27 May 2005, IFS suspended its advertising campaign, which involved both television and print media, pending the outcome of discussions with ASIC.
'All advertising about choice of superannuation funds must be clear, accurate and unambiguous, with the correct level of detail set out for consumers. This is particularly important with the introduction of Super Choice on 1 July', said Mr Cooper.
'ASIC will continue to work cooperatively with the superannuation industry to ensure that any concerns are resolved quickly and in the interests of better information for consumers. We certainly don't want to stop funds from explaining the benefits of their products to consumers, provided they don't go too far', he said.
End of release
Download a copy of the enforceable undertaking (PDF file, 154 KB)
ASIC Website: Printed 02/10/2010
