The Association of Independently Owned Financial Professionals (AIOFP) has criticised younger advisers who do not support Labor’s proposed education exemption for older advisers, accusing them of being the “Christmas Grinch”.
Shadow financial services minister, Stephen Jones, announced Labor would grant an exemption for advisers with over 10 years of experience and a clean track record from the tertiary education requirements, which had found support from industry bodies.
Peter Johnston, AIOFP executive director, said he was disappointed by the reaction from younger advisers who did not qualify for the exemption and had done or were required to do the education requirements.
“It is unfortunate that some elitist younger financial advisers (EYFA) cannot find any compassion or patience for the older adviser who may not have had the opportunity for a traditional university style of education but has life experience, arguably the most important qualification to have,” Johnston said.
“How many times do you hear university graduates say ‘most of what I studied at uni has no relevance to my career’ – it is the subsequent university of life training that makes them successful and relevant in their chosen career.
“That is why new entrants have at least 12 months of training before being allowed to give advice to consumers, the curriculum content they studied for over four years is largely irrelevant.
“The EYFA fraternity should stop being the Christmas Grinch and demonstrate some respect to experienced advisers of all descriptions who have been the backbone of this industry for over 40 years and have performed to a high level.”
Although he said he supported the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority exam, it still needed to be re-worked next year under the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
“Whilst most theoretically agree a FASEA exam is a good idea it is time to adjust its original objective and reflect that in the exam content,” Johnston said.
“It must move away from trying to intimidate any adviser out of the industry to being specific to the adviser’s field of expertise and testing the relevant ethical/technical information.
“It also needs to be set by an industry panel not an academic who knows little about our industry.”
