Australia’s major banks have confirmed that millions of dollars a year are still flowing to financial planning dealer groups to support the banks’ products in the market.
A series of answers provided to the Parliamentary Joint Committee (PJC) on Corporations and Financial Services review of Life Insurance has confirmed the degree to which payments continued to be made in the interests of educating advisers.
The ANZ Banking Group confirmed to the committee that it paid $2.7 million to external dealer groups last financial year with the payments “used for education and training of their financial planners”.
Similarly Westpac’s insurance arm, Westpac Life Insurance Services Limited was confirmed as making “payments to certain adviser dealer‐groups for the purpose of adviser education and training, including for changes to products”.
However, in explaining its approach, Westpac said the Life Insurance Framework (LIF) reforms, commencing 1 January, next year, “will ensure these payments are quarantined for this purpose”.
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That's vertical integration at it's finest.
Pay advisers upfront to promote your products through indoctrination and propaganda and then reward them with commissions!
yes, and the research department of the dealer always finds a way for a tick onto the APL because they've been provided so much information and background on the product, great due diligence they claim
This is good behaviour. It builds goodwill among the financial planners and helps us to further our education. The same thing happens in the medical fraternity, with pharmaceutical companies sponsoring conferences and symposiums. If they are making money out of our advice, then it is good to see them giving something back to improve the profession through education. It is certainly better than what the industry funds have done. They have spent their members money on scare campaigns designed to undermine and discredit our profession.
It must be coincidence that when the Insurers pump money into dealer groups, that the Insurers product suddenly becomes available on the adviser APL..... Those who don't pay are then taken off, all under the guise of "research".
So Ben, when doctors start pushing certain medications over others, that's seen as good behaviour?
And the reason they do it is because the pharmaceutical companies have taken them on overseas conferences and lavished them with dinners and lunches and goodies. Yep, no conflict of interest there! It doesn't matter if the medicines are actually better or more expensive. It's quid pro quo! You give and you get.
After all, who could pass up on another ballpoint pen!!!
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