AFA to release advice competency framework
Financial advisers need to understand behavioural patterns of their clients to steer them in the right direction in their financial decisions, according to an Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) whitepaper.
The AFA has produced the whitepaper in partnership with the Beddoes Institute, Asteron Life, and Kaplan Professional following industry-wide collaboration, in which there is industry-wide consensus of the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours required to be a financial adviser.
Due to be released at the AFA National Adviser Conference in the Gold Coast this week, the ‘Financial Advice Competency Framework’ builds on the existing regulatory standards on education and professionalism, and discusses the knowledge, skills, and attributes required by financial advisers to reflect current conversations with clients, according to the AFA.
Asteron Life head of wealth and life intermediaries, Daniel Waller said: “Financial advisers play an important role in people’s lives by helping them make good financial decisions and stopping them from making choices that are not in their own best interest”.
“This research shows us how to do it.”
Producing the whitepaper involved over 60 interviews and rounds of online voting and feedback from an expert panel of over 500 stakeholders including advisers, consumers, regulators, academics, industry and professional association members. In addition, the Beddoes Institute received over 1,600 written comments to help shape the framework.
The AFA would share the new knowledge domains and competencies needed by financial advisers as defined by all participants within the sector.
AFA general manager, member services, partnership, and campus, Nick Hakes, said: “This has been an extensive process and one which the AFA believes will propel the profession forward”.
“This is because the whitepaper not only outlines the new framework and foreshadows an implementation kit, it also helps shape the professional development requirements of advisers currently not covered by the existing regulatory standards on education and professionalism.”
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