The Financial Planning Association (FPA) has sought to use further media coverage of the events which led up to the enforceable undertaking imposed on Commonwealth Financial Planning to defend the FPA's own handling of those involved.
With the ABC scheduled tonight to broadcast a further program based on events with Commonwealth Financial Planning and with the Sydney Morning Herald having published an interview with banned adviser, Don Nguyen, alleging he was never properly trained or supervised, the FPA issued a formal statement making clear its own actions.
"Tonight's ABC Four Corners program ‘Banking Bad' will air details regarding the activities of banned FPA member Mr Rollo Sherriff. Tonight's story will follow-up a Fairfax Media's weekend report (‘Rollo Sherriff and Meridien Wealth: How a rock-solid institution backed impenitent maverick'.)
"It is on the record that the FPA took disciplinary action against Mr Sherriff as early as 2004. Mr Sherriff's membership of the FPA was suspended a decade ago," the FPA statement said. "In addition to this disciplinary action, Mr Sherriff was terminated as a member of the FPA well over four years ago."
It said that Sherriff was also listed on the FPA's consumer website as a banned member in accordance with section 16.1 of the FPA professional constitution, but noted that he did not similarly appear on the ASIC website as a banned or disqualified person.
"The FPA believes this case serves to demonstrate the strong need for legislation to formally differentiate between professional advice and non-professional product sales," the FPA statement said. "The FPA calls again on legislators to heed this vital message: the time has come to support the minimum consumer protection standards within FOFA, by enshrining the terms financial planner and financial adviser in law for the protection of all Australians and their life savings."
The Sydney Morning Herald has today published a story in which it quotes Nguyen saying nobody at the bank, not even its compliance department, ever said "what you are doing is wrong".
