Super funds providing simple advice at a lower cost for clients is leaving advisers playing catch-up, according to an advice technology expert. 

FOFA will leave advisers needing to profitably service C&D clients in a fee-for-service environment if they are to remain competitive, said director of Provisio Technologies, Cameron O'Sullivan.

"Advisers are going to need one of two things - a system that allows them to deal with simple transactions quicker to build a package for lower-end clients that is significantly cheaper, or potentially they'll have to justify a fee with service where they previously haven't," he said.

Online and call centre offerings have proved compelling for superannuation members, with AustralianSuper in the process of building systems that enable members to do more.

With industry super funds starting to position as a viable alternative to platforms, the landscape is set to become even more competitive.

"They [industry super funds] have given advisers plenty to consider," O'Sullivan said. "The removal of in-built adviser fees from platforms combined with the ability for advisers to charge fees in some industry funds means they become a genuine alternative."

In a reflection of changes to the competitive landscape, O'Sullivan pointed to research from Roy Morgan which revealed that in the 12 months to June last year, 10 per cent of superannuation fund products that switched to industry funds came through a planner.

The next step then is to link the statement of advice (SOA) software and the transaction system of the platform for implementation.

"Ideally you want to tie this offering to the platform you're using. If I ring my adviser and we agree to do something on the phone, it's great if the SOA can be generated really quickly, but we want to be able to implement this advice via the platform, so if I go online later that day I can get the updated SOA and see all those changes made," said O'Sullivan, who is predicting a surge in online advice technology to make retaining fees easier for advisers in the post-FOFA industry environment.