Adviser registry an online phone book: IFAAA
Significant omissions from the register of financial advisers makes it a missed opportunity, as it will not be any easier to get information on advisers.
Such is the opinion of the Independent Financial Advisers Association of Australia (IFAAA), which said two significant details are absent from the register.
It said the register does not have the adviser's financial services guide (FSG), and a statement on whether the adviser meets the legal criteria of "independent".
IFAAA president Daniel Brammall, who was on the committee making recommendations to the Government about the public register, said the register was a chance to go beyond what is already available on the Australian Securities and Investments Commission's (ASIC) website, and collate all the vital facts onto one Government-run platform.
"There's no doubt that this public register would become something consumers could use to evaluate and compare financial planners," Brammall said.
"But without key information like the FSG and a statement on independence it runs the risk of becoming nothing more than an online phone book."
While all planners must give clients an FSG before they give advice, which outlines how they are paid, what advice they can give and whether they are linked to a bank or insurance company, there is no obligation for advisers to have this information on their website.
Brammall also argued the word "independent" is being misused even if advisers do not meet the legal definition and tests set out in the Corporations Act.
"Planners who describe their services as ‘independent' when they don't meet the test are — at best — creating confusion and — at worst — engaging in misleading conduct," he said.
AUTHOR
Malavika Santhebennur
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