Consumer education still needs improvement

Consumers are still being left out of the financial services loop, according to the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC).

Consumers are still being left out of the financial services loop, according to the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC).

ASIC chairman Alan Cameron says consumer and industry groups should be just as involved in educating the public as the government.

Cameron was commenting on the results of the first stocktake of consumer educa-tion in Australian financial services. The newly released study was carried out by the Financial Services Consumer Policy Centre after being commissioned by ASIC's Consumer Advisory Panel (CAP).

CAP chairwoman Barbara Cail says ASIC is "extremely pleased with the outcome" of the research, however she has flagged some areas for improvement in educating consumers about financial services. Cail says there is a dearth of information on direct share investments, for example.

Cail also says those who are providing the information have not properly estab-lished how to disseminate the information to consumers.

"Producing information is one thing, who you reach is another," she says.

Cail says she is confident the report will not end up gathering dust on a shelf.

"This report provides important groundwork for ASIC's future policies," she says. ASIC now hope to follow on from the report by developing a consumer educa-tion strategy for consumers and industry groups to comment on.

Both Cail and Cameron have also expressed the hope of making the database com-piled during the research process available to consumers in the future, some-thing the Federal Minister for Financial Services Joe Hockey says he will wel-come.

"I would welcome the setting up of this database on-line as an initiative. The government is committed to a more efficient and effective financial services in-dustry, and more consumer education," Hockey says.