Vanguard sees uptick in adviser SMSF interest

Vanguard’s principal and head of market development and communication, Robin Bowerman, said that as SMSFs become a more popular option within the financial services industry, advisers’ level of support for them is increasing.

“If you went back six or seven years ago, I think a lot of advisers were actually quite a filter on the SMSF industry,” Bowerman said, “but I think a lot of advisers have now realised that they can actually add value by using the SMSF-type structure.”

Bowerman said that the SMSF sector has experienced an increase as people look for greater control of their retirement savings.

For this reason, advisers who are looking to service the SMSF industry will need to restructure their value proposition to meet this client need, he said.

“The clients have probably got their own investment ideas and strategies and what they’re really looking for from the adviser is more a validation of their own ideas or new ideas [that] they can take away and execute themselves,” Bowerman said.

“It’s quite a different value proposition that advisers need to deal with for SMSFs, and it can be quite challenging for advisers.”