Plan for more red tape rejected by super sector
This week's call by the Financial Services Council for the establishment of a statutory and independent Advice Competency Standards Board to rebuild the trust of consumers has been firmly rejected by other industry players.The Financial Planning Association of Australia was quick to respond, labelling FSC's plan for a new statutory board to oversee the Australian financial advice industry as "another band-aid solution." Mark Rantall, CEO of the FPA, said yesterday that it views the FSC proposal as "embedding inherent conflicts, rather than eliminating them," given the proposed body is to be industry-funded. "This model gives up on self-regulation, but creates more red tape. Removing the self-responsibility of advice businesses to do their best by consumers is not a solution," Rantall said in a media release yesterday."We believe the role of Government and regulators is to set minimums standards and enforce them legally - it is not to do the industry's job by defining what professionalism in advice looks like." The FPA has consistently called for significant industry change, campaigning for what it sees as key measures. "The blueprint for trust is simple: raise the bar in terms of professional and education standards for financial planners; separate product sales from professional personal financial advice and enshrine the term 'financial planner' in law so Australians can identify the professionals and trust the profession," Rantall said.Another senior planning industry figure, Peter Collins, the chair of peak body, Industry Super Australia, has added his weight to the FPA's argument, labelling the FSC's proposed Standards board for financial advisers as just "window dressing." "The proposed Standards Board for financial advisers is a distraction by the banks and an embarrassing back‐flip," Collins said yesterday."Following an extraordinary lobbying campaign by the banks and financial advisers, the FoFA Bill currently before the parliament gives the banks and advisers their wish‐list at the expense of consumers."The banks now recognise they went too far and have lost the support of the Australian public," he said."Confidence in financial advice is important for the wellbeing of many Australians, particularly as superannuation account balances grow. "This confidence will come from financial advice that is genuinely impartial, backed up by an unqualified best interests test and a comprehensive ban on sales incentives. "The current regulations, lobbied for the banks, include a 'Claytons' best interest test and the return of a range of sales commission, incentives and bonuses."