The Australian Consumers’ Association (ACA) has refused to concede that a new survey which paints a positive picture of the financial planning industry has discredited its infamous ‘shadow shopper’ report, which handed down a scathing report card on advisers last year.
“It doesn’t mean the criticism that arose from the research we did is invalid, or that planners can point to this survey as evidence that the concerns our survey gave rise to have been addressed, or are no longer an issue,” ACA financial services policy officer Catherine Wolthuizen said.
As reported by Money Management last week, the Credit Suisse Asset Management (CSAM) survey found 88 per cent of clients thought their advisers were “good” or “very good”. The findings were in contrast to the ACA survey which found more than one-third of advisers were considered poor.
The CSAM survey findings, based on interviews with 576 clients of seven different dealer groups, have received strong backing from the Financial Planning Association (FPA) and the Investment and Financial Services Association (IFSA).
“It clearly shows that planners have done a lot to rectify flagging public opinion and they are good results for planners,” IFSA chief executive Richard Gilbert said.
But Wolthuizen said the CSAM survey simply demonstrates that planners are very good at generating confidence among their clients. “But the very reason many people go to a financial planner is because they are not in a position to qualitatively assess the advice they have been given because they are not financial experts,” she said.
Chair-elect of the FPA Kathryn Greiner disagrees. “The ACA was trying to highlight some issues but it would appear their methodology was limited,” she said.
Count Financial, one of the dealer groups whose clients participated in the Credit Suisse survey, said it was disappointing that industry associations didn’t come out with a similar report earlier.
“It’s the sort of thing the FPA should have picked up on,” chief operating officer Marianne Perkovic said.
