Chant West, FAAA unveil ‘advice-ready’ certification for super funds

Yasmine Raso

Senior Journalist

2 April 2026

The Financial Advice Association Australia (FAAA) and Chant West have together launched a new accreditation framework to determine the effectiveness of superannuation fund capabilities in supporting the delivery of financial advice for clients and members.

The ‘Adviser-Ready Fund’ label identifies which super funds are well positioned to provide financial advisers with assistance and access to the necessary information and data to best support clients through their savings and retirement experiences.

Chant West General Manager, Ian Fryer, said the certification was developed in consultation with FAAA members and provides a set of criteria to measure and evaluate the services super funds provide for financial advisers to help clients who are fund members.

“Chant West and the FAAA share a commitment to creating a stronger alignment between the work of the super and advice sectors to ultimately create better financial outcomes for more Australians,” he said.

“It is critical that more Australian consumers have access to great financial advice. The Adviser-Ready Fund accreditation will help ensure that more consumers have choice about how they access advice, and that advisers can find the information they need to support their clients.

“There are 24 criteria that funds are assessed against, and they need to meet 16 out of the 24 criteria to receive the Adviser-Ready Fund certification.”

Some of the criteria include:

• access to client’s super fund holding information (via an adviser portal)
• ability to transact on behalf of clients, including digital signatures and consents
• ability to deduct advice fees
• key product features that support the delivery of tailored advice in relation to super
• ease of advisers arranging fee deductions and third-party authorities, and
• third-party adviser support through dedicated contact centres.

“A panel of FAAA members who use all types of superannuation products – including SMSFs, platforms, and pooled vehicles such as retail and ‘profit to member’ super funds – were involved in developing the key assessment criteria,” FAAA chief executive, Sarah Abood, said.

“This helps ensure that the criteria are focused on what advisers actually need to assist their clients.

“It is important to note the Adviser-Ready Fund is not an investment rating. It is an assessment of how effectively a super fund is supporting external financial advisers who need to access information and implement advice on behalf of their clients.”

Twelve funds have already been designated an ‘Adviser-Ready Fund’ for 2026, deeming them “operationally ready to support external professional financial advice”. They are:

• AMP MyNorth
• Australian Retirement Trust – Super Savings
• Aware Super
• Brighter Super
• BT Panorama
• CFS Edge
• CFS FirstChoice
• Expand
• HUB24
• Macquarie
• MLC MasterKey
• Netwealth