IFFP extends reach

Industry Fund Financial Planning (IFFP) is to set up a financial service to assist charities experiencing surging demand for financial counselling, according to David Haynes, general manager of parent company Industry Fund Services.

The decision comes in the wake of a call by Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard last week for the banks to assist charities in their efforts to help Australians cope with increasing unemployment and mortgage stress.

“The Government’s approach is certainly on all fours with our model, which is about providing appropriate client advice for ordinary Australians, and so, yes, we do intend setting up an appropriate service,” Haynes said.

“We applaud the initiative and we believe we could add value to it through our involvement.”

However, the service won’t come free of charge to the Federal Government.

“We would be looking for some sort of financial support in offering this service, as we can’t float above financial reality,” Haynes said. “We cannot exceed our costs.”

The IFFP has yet to talk to the Government about “how its model would be supported”, he said, although he believes there is an “alignment between what the Government wants to do and our model at IFFP”.

He envisages the Government will opt for a model that “provides similar services to those offered by Centrelink, although perhaps at a higher skills level”.

“I think what Julia Gillard is looking at providing is something that fills the space between financial counselling on the one hand and financial advice on the other.

“It’s not necessarily going to be about a full plan that maps out people’s financial future but rather something that helps individuals to deal with their current circumstances in the current economic climate.”