The power of the Financial Planning Association (FPA) to discipline its own members will be put to the test in circumstances where it has confirmed it is investigating 41 complaints against 23 financial planners over advice with respect to Westpoint.
FPA chief executive Jo-Anne Bloch revealed the figure at the same time as seeking to reassure consumers that they should not allow the negative publicity surrounding the Westpoint collapse to undermine their perceptions of the value of financial advice.
Bloch said the FPA had issued show cause letters to a number of its members with respect to the Westpoint collapse and they had been given 28 days to respond before consideration was given to any disciplinary action.
“Where FPA members are proven to have failed in their obligation to put client interests before their own, appropriate sanctions will be imposed by the FPA’s disciplinary committee,” she said.
“We don’t have the capacity to award compensation to members, so the FPA supports the role of the Financial Industry Complaints Service as a channel through which consumers can seek financial compensation for their losses,” Bloch said.