Organisations have welcomed the election of Anthony Albanese as the next Prime Minister.
The Association of Independently Owned Financial Advisers in Australia (AIOFP) said it was pleased with the Labor party victory and the removal of Josh Frydenberg from Parliament.
Speaking to Money Management, Peter Johnston, AIOFP executive director, said: “Over the past nine years this Government has been brutal to the advice community – yes we did need some changes but not the ridiculous lengths they went to.
“In late 2014 when Frydenberg become our minister it was obvious he had an agenda to remove advisers from the landscape and was relentless. It is poetic justice he has now lost his job.”
Johnston said his organisation warned Senator Jane Hume in 2019 that it would attack Liberal marginal seats if her Government persisted with “ridiculous compliance legislation and refused to amend other LIF/FASEA anomalies”.
“We are pleased to say that our strategy worked particularly well in the seat of Kooyong where over 300 advisers live with thousands of clients, this no doubt contributed to the removal of Frydenberg.
“The last nine years of pain for the advice community has demonstrated that associations that sit on the fence politically or are sycophants and not acting in the best interests of members need to amend their ways.”
Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA) chief executive, Sarah Abood, said she was hopeful that the Government would provide certainty to the adviser industry.
“We are expecting the new Government to quickly deliver on its election commitment to provide much-needed certainty to the profession on education standards, including providing for a framework to better recognise relevant experience.”
She said the FPA had already built good engagement with Albanese’s colleague, Stephen Jones, and highlighted issues such as the compensation scheme of last resort, tax deductions for financial advice and the industry funding model as priorities.
On the markets side, AMP chief economist, Shane Oliver, said: “With the share market down 3.5% over the last eight weeks there is potential for a rebound ahead as political uncertainty is reduced but the Australian share market remains vulnerable to ongoing global concerns about inflation, interest rates and recession and these will likely dominate.
“Industry sectors likely to benefit from the change in Government include clean energy, health, education, home builders & manufacturing, whereas heavy carbon emitters may lose.”
Over at the Financial Services Council (FSC), chief executive, Blake Briggs, said: “Labor will be responsible for delivering on important initiatives such as the Quality of Advice Review and measures to make financial advice affordable and accessible to all Australians.
“The financial services industry plays an important role in supporting Australian consumers and a growing economy and we encourage Labor to focus on initiatives that will deliver an efficient and competitive industry.”
