Hi Liz, the members are the ones paying which is ironic because...

Hi Liz, the members are the ones paying which is ironic because they are the ones that mostly don't need the ads..they are already in.
SMSF's apparently have been a huge drain on IF's and I'm waiting for the current government to propose some more restrictions on SMSF's to keep their mates even happier.

Investment wise, a close look reveals a reasonable amount of 'unlisted' investments (which has come to the attention of ASIC I believe) and 'Balanced' default investment funds not being like the other Balanced ones they are usually compared with.

Insurance - Auto acceptance is great and from what I understand, it doesn't matter whether or not you smoke. But I also have heard that administration can be a nightmare, pre-existing conditions may deny claims.

Your other comments made a lot of sense, too. The other thing I have heard is that the IF financial advisor probably gets bonuses based on money brought into the fund, as well as their costs being subsidised by the IF. To me this is a commission under a different name, so the ads on TV may not actually be true....but who knows.