“Rules and regulations mean individuals have to put in a certain amount into their pensions and those assets are managed predominantly by financial advisers who are now using ETFs as part of their investment strategy,” said Spiteri.
Banks in trouble
He added that he was unfazed by recent controversy surrounding Australia’s top banks, including ANZ.
Last year, the ‘Big Four’ were told to repay at least A$178m (£111m, €125m, $136m) to more than 200,000 customers after charging them for financial advice they did not receive, with CBA being the worst offender.
The banks’ dubious practices in the finance and advice industry have repeatedly come under the spotlight of late amid scandals involving everything from misleading financial advice and insurance fraud to interest-rate rigging and failures to pass on rate cuts to mortgage customers.
As a result, the Australian government has set up a parliamentary review, known as a royal commission, to question the chief executives of the ‘Big Four’ on their conduct in the industry.
