FPA welcomes handing down of High quality of Recommendation Evaluate ultimate report back to Authorities

Mon nineteenth December 2022

The Monetary Planning Affiliation has welcomed Michelle Levy’s handing down of the ultimate report of the High quality of Recommendation Evaluate to the Authorities, and eagerly awaits its findings by the Monetary Companies Minister, Stephen Jones.

FPA CEO, Sarah Abood, mentioned it’s essential the Minister strikes shortly to scale back the regulatory burden that monetary planners are beneath, which has seen important value added to the career over the previous 10 years.

“The Evaluate is a vital alternative to scale back the price of offering recommendation in Australia and enhance the power of Australians to get entry to top quality skilled monetary recommendation.

“Whereas we’re ready to see the ultimate suggestions, our members have been inspired by these made within the Proposal Paper earlier this yr, together with a extra principles-based strategy to regulating the availability of monetary recommendation.

“The FPA believes the regulatory prices of offering private recommendation should come down, to assist enhance the affordability of recommendation for shoppers and guarantee there’s a degree taking part in discipline for the regulatory necessities and requirements imposed on recommendation suppliers.

“Additional, the regulatory atmosphere ought to facilitate the availability of straightforward private monetary recommendation to purchasers in an reasonably priced method by monetary planners and monetary planning practices, to satisfy shopper demand.”

The FPA says new regulatory necessities should:

• construct shopper belief within the several types of recommendation companies and advantages via excessive requirements, acceptable schooling and coaching, efficient necessities and accountability, and clear regulation of the supplier, utilized persistently throughout the monetary companies sector,
• scale back enter prices into the availability of monetary recommendation,
• facilitate a rise in monetary recommendation suppliers,
• guarantee lively accountability for all monetary recommendation suppliers,
• keep constant shopper protections throughout the career, and
• be honest and equitable.

Ms Abood provides the affect on competitors within the monetary recommendation market have to be a key consideration when analyzing the present authorized obligations and making suggestions for regulatory change, and should not present a structural aggressive benefit to 1 sort of supplier over one other.

“Importantly, solely ‘related suppliers’ who meet the skilled requirements ought to be legally permitted to make use of the phrases monetary planner and monetary adviser and like phrases,” she says.