Well the headline of our story this week said no they don't. Apparently the finance minister's press secretary didn't agree with that comment. So what's the answer?
My view is that yes there is a role for advisers in the process. It's a role which is a little different to what advisers do now. Since there will be little fat in the set up for decent commissions, advisers can sell their services to employers to help them select and run superannuation schemes for their employees.
Under this model advisers will charge a fee for service. If this happens it will encourage financial planners to shift from a commission remuneration model to a fee for service one.
The idea expressed here is along the lines of what some insurers do in the group life market. The people who do this are big writers and have significant businesses.
Another way of looking at KiwiSaver is that it is a competitor to independent financial advisers. Maybe another approach should be to use the promotion of KiwiSaver and the general awareness of the need to save as a prospecting tool to your advantage.
Your offering as an adviser is to say you have a better proposition than KiwiSaver and the employee should be your client - not of the state sanctioned schemes.
For more on this read Russell Hutchinson's column in the latest ASSET Magazine. If you're not an ASSET subscriber click here.
Well the headline of our story this week said no they don't. Apparently the finance minister's press secretary didn't agree with that comment. So what's the answer?