The head of Sydney-based advice firm Bannister Mansfield, which is not a member of the Financial Planning Association (FPA), has accused the FPA of misleading consumers with its newly-launched ‘Client First’ principle.
Gavin Murphy claimed consumers have been “misled into believing the new principle is in place from last month (November 19), when in reality it does not become enforceable for advisers until July 1 next year”.
“The FPA is pretending its members are now putting the interests of their clients first when actually it will be another seven months until they will be managing this basic principle,” he said.
Asked by Money Management to comment on Murphy’s assertions, the chief executive of the FPA, Jo-Anne Bloch, said the principle “is in force from November 19 É. we expect our members to abide by it until it becomes enforceable in July next year”.
Murphy claimed the principle was “nothing more than a smokescreen intended to try to win back the rapidly waning confidence of mum and dad investors in the current economic environment”.
The principle is one of eight principles within a revised code of ethics implemented by the FPA earlier this month, which are enforceable from July 2009.
The revised code has received the backing of the Minister for Superannuation and Corporate Law, Nick Sherry, and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
