The Financial Planning Association (FPA) has encouraged members to overturn negative perceptions of advice through a grass-roots campaign aimed at presenting the benefits of advice to local members of parliament and existing clients.
Speaking in Sydney yesterday, as part of the FPA National Roadshow, FPA chief executive, Mark Rantall, said “local FPA members can be a powerful voice for the profession clearly articulating the facts and measures that will progress the profession”.
“(FPA manager of policy) Dante (De Gori) and myself are often in Canberra but nothing is more powerful than going to a local member who listens to their constituents and you tell the story of what you do on a daily basis to help people,” Rantall said.
He said the FPA would be sending a toolkit to members to help them meet with local MPs and to discuss issues relevant to the profession with Rantall encouraging them to promote higher education standards and professionalism in their discussions.
“The PJC inquiry has recommendations on the table that the Government is considering so the time is now. Over the coming days we will send out toolkit to help you talk with your local MP and I encourage you to get an appointment and get in front of these people.”
He also urged FPA members to demonstrate their credential to their clients and their friends stating “nothing is more powerful than word of mouth and we can create a positive word of mouth to empower the public to make their own judgements of the profession, rather than take on the judgements of the media”.
Rantall said FPA members should demonstrate their credentials stating they had committed to a higher level of professional standards and clients should know what means.
“If every CFP called themselves a CFP and had on average 200 active clients, over million Australians would know the difference which is more powerful than advertising.
We don’t have to be victims and it is time we took matters in own hands.”
Rantall said the efforts of members would be supported by a newspaper and radio campaign advertising the higher education and professional standards of Certified Financial Planners (CFP). The campaign would run across 46 newspapers and 41 radio stations in national, metro and regional areas and promoting the CFP designation as “The Sign of Good Advice”.
