The first meeting of the Government’s financial advice advisory panel was held in Sydney yesterday, but the panel members have been asked to keep the issues discussed strictly confidential.
The panel, formed as part of the Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) reforms, is expected to address a range of issues relating to professional and ethical standards in the advice industry.
Some of the issues on the table include the receipt of soft-dollar benefits by financial services professionals – a topic deemed too complex to be dealt with in the initial FOFA package. The adequacy of the current training requirements for people giving financial product advice will also examined, including new ideas about how training should be tested and assessed. The panel is also expected to discuss the possible development of a ‘best practice guide’ for financial advisers.
Chaired by Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) Commissioner Greg Medcraft (pictured), the panel includes a diverse range of financial services representatives, including Colonial First State chief Brian Bissaker, AMP director of financial planning Steve Helmich and MLC and NAB Wealth head of advice and marketing Richard Nunn.
Association heads are well represented, with the Financial Planning Association’s Mark Rantall, Association of Financial Advisers’ Richard Klipin, Finsia’s Martin Fahy, Andrea Slattery from the Self-Managed Superannuation Fund Professionals’ Association of Australia, Alex Malley from CPA Australia and Linda Evans from the National Insurance Brokers Association all on board.
Daniel Brammall, a financial planner who earlier this year founded a small association for fiercely independent advisers, is also on the panel, along with Treasury official Geoff Miller, University of New South Wales academic Professor Dimity Kingsford Smith and HESTA chief Anne-Marie Corboy.
The remaining panel members are representatives from consumer group Choice, the Finance Sector Union, the ASX, and the Stockbrokers Association of Australia.
