The Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) is undertaking collaborative research to provide what it says will be industry-led evidence of what the education pathway should look like.
In partnership with Asteron Life and Kaplan Professional, the AFA has engaged the Beddoes Institute to undertake research, with the framework including technical and communication skills, interpersonal qualities, and personal attributes as described in white papers previously published by the AFA and the Beddoes Institute.
Beddoes has used the Delphi process to conduct the research, which is a consensus development methodology that includes structured dialogue among a panel of experts to agree upon a framework from the various opinions of participants.
Beddoes Institute director, Dr Adam Tucker, said: “The first stage of this process is almost complete with CEOs and senior executives of licensees, consumers, advisers, and other industry groups having participated in structured interviews”.
“The next second phase of the research is a series of iterative online voting on draft framework elements by an online expert panel. Each panel participant will be asked to respond to up to five surveys over three months, voting on key elements.”
Advisers, regulators, academics and professional associations would be consulted to ensure the draft framework would align with the requirements and expectations of the industry.
The AFA said the goal was to create a “pragmatic” industry-wide educational framework that would succeed as it had been created by the people who would need to implement it.
Campus AFA general manager, Nick Hakes, said the Financial Advice Standards and Ethics Authority presented an opportunity to reimagine an education pathway that reflected consumer needs from advisers, which it can then put into practice the elements of the professional standards legislation.
“Our research with the Beddoes Institute will ultimately produce a pragmatic new approach that recognises all other frameworks in our market,” Hakes said.
The industry whitepaper, framework, and implementation kits are expected to be available for release in October this
