Adviser group calls for FASEA exam boycott
The Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA) exam is completely opaque non-transparent in application and meaningless as an academic industry entry requirement and should be boycotted.
That is the assessment of United Financial Advisers Association (UFAA) chairman, Alex Vagliviello who said the exam did not even bestow an industry accreditation on those who passed it or assist with consumers understanding the individual adviser’s competency.
“Insultingly, it doesn’t even count towards an adviser’s annual Continual Professional Development requirement despite the amount of time this exercise entails,” he said. “Yet failure to pass the exam will end an adviser’s business putting an end to their livelihood regardless of years of practice and experience.”
Vagliviello said that it was for this reason that the UFAA was now calling for a boycott of the exam and “seeking a practical alternative that is both honest, transparent and filled with integrity”.
“Regardless of the narrative put forward by the LNP or Labor, FASEA and the industry is confused and in disarray while over-regulated to the point where it is on the verge of collapse,” he said.
“Overcome by reform fatigue, advisers are leaving the industry in record numbers with those remaining under severe strain as their businesses cope with a never-ending deluge of administrative and compliance demands.”
“In this sense, the sector finds itself unique in that these confusing compliance demands, when compared to other similar industries, is dissuading new entrants considering a career in financial services,” Vagliviello said.
Recommended for you
With an advice M&A deal taking around six months to enact, two experts have shared their tips on how buyers and sellers can avoid “deal fatigue” and prevent potential deals from collapsing.
Several financial advisers have been shortlisted in the ninth annual Women in Finance Awards 2025, to be held on 14 November.
Digital advice tools are on the rise, but licensees will need to ensure they still meet adviser obligations or potentially risk a class action if clients lose money from a rogue algorithm.
Shaw and Partners has merged with Sydney wealth manager Kennedy Partners Wealth, while Ord Minnett has hired a private wealth adviser from Morgan Stanley.
