Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA) chief executive, Dante De Gori will step down from the role at the end of 2021.
De Gori had been CEO of the association for six years and had been with the FPA for almost 12 years.
FPA chair, Marisa Broome, said: “From his original appointment to work as the FPA head of policy and government relations, then adding professional standards to his remit through to his appointment as chief executive in March 2016, Dante has always put the profession of financial planning and the FPA members first. Dante will leave a lasting positive legacy at the FPA”.
De Gori said it was the right time for a new leader of the association with the FPA’s five-year members, advocacy, and consumers (MAC) strategy in place and with the launch of the FPA policy platform – Affordable Advice Sustainable Profession.
“I will forever be grateful to everyone who has supported the FPA, it has been both an honour and privilege to have served in this role,” he said.
“I would like to thank the FPA team for their dedication and passion in supporting our members and the profession; our chapters and committees; the board and our partners and of course, our FPA members who are the true champions of the advice profession and for whom I will always remain their biggest advocate.”
The FPA announcement said the board would commerce a search for De Gori’s replacement immediately.
Comments
Nanananananana , hey hey hey, goooooodbyeeeee
I would say not soon enough, but it's actually too late. Maybe at some future point in time a freedom of information application will find the evidence to explain why our own professional organisation kicked us to the curb in such a brutal and decisive manner, It seems to be a sign of our times that responsible individuals make an epic destructive mess and then have the opportunity to resign leaving others to pick up the pieces. As Mr T would say: "I pity the fool who takes over that role".
let's nominate either Tim or Clair Mackay as CEO of FPA
yes, they are the most important persons. I nominate Tim too, Clair as co-CEOs, and then Kochie can be co-chairman with melissa.
OH NO! please NO, not the Oompa Loompa's of the financial advice profession.
Tim's too hardline. He wants all life commissions (ie, supply side remuneration) gone, but has not considered how regular mums and dads can access advice on risk protection without paying $3,000 for the advice. There's an accountant for you.
I think the comments above regarding the Oompa Loompas are sarcasm. no one wants him or his sister.
his plan is to charge everyone a flat fee of $10k, has said so himself. bit of a goofball if you ask me. no one takes him seriously. thinks he is cool because he has an AFR opinion column. I know someone else who had one recently.
The ideal replacement would be someone from outside the industry, who has experience running a genuine professional association. The FPA already has people like Ben & Nick who are well versed in industry and regulatory issues. But it has never had anyone with the courage and leadership to jettison operational practices that prevent it from being a credible, individual member based, professional association. The new CEO needs to immediately get rid of:
- The "Professional Practice" program
- Bulk renewals paid for by large licensees
- Discounted fees for members associated with large licensees
- Grandfathered CFPs
The FPA's underperformance as a lobbyist is not due to a lack of understanding or ability from people in lobbying roles. It is due to the FPA's lack of credibility with regulators and politicians, because it is not yet seen as a genuine professional association.
While we're cleaning up could we also add the immediate stop in all corporate sponsorship for the FPA? Conflicted remuneration, anyone?
If he wasn't pushed, then the FPA board are useless, and so are the members for funding this inept association which puts institutions and their relationship with government departments above the actual paying members.
Best of luck Dante - usually the captain goes down with ship, hopefully we stay afloat without you.
about time we had a good news story!!! Long over due, thanks for the Sh*%t Show you've left behind
Maybe a perfect time to consider merging of FPA and AFA but still think it's too late for the Industry which is doomed in the short term ......
Dante is leaving the sinking ship that is the FPA, and the financial advice industry. what a sad day for us all.
Anyone know where he is going?? ASIC/AFCA/Industry fund/sitting on a the board of a bank - the role perhaps he has taken will continue persecuting honest advisers like the FPA has done on his watch/didn't show up when we needed you due to self interest - he showed his true colours that's for sure when trying to snake his way into the political world and got burnt at the steak. Bye Bye......
It would be very disappointing, yet unsurprising, if he popped up at a fund/insto he completely caved to during his reign instead of standing up for advisers (his actual job).
For the good of the industry/profession cross every bone in your body that the FPA can entice an Anna Bligh type leader to take on this role.
Who?
Captain Bligh's daughter.
He was a lapdog for the previous CEO when appointed. I recall when the CBA was screwing Practices his only interest in our stresses was "can we attribute this to FOFA, Deen is very interested in those examples." Weak then and has been weak as CEO.
The headline should have read that he has been pushed, rather than leave.
He walks away from the smoking ruins of this industry, having been paid literally millions from FPA members' money over the years for doing absolutely nothing for the advancement of the industry, his members or the public; other than just being a lapdog for the major institutions. 50% of advisers left or leaving the industry, exploding under insurance problem and lowest number of consumers receiving advice. Total failure by any measure.
There's a fair bit of vitriol in these comments but I wish Dante the best for himself and his family going forward. It hasn't worked as intended and for all his efforts to professionalise the industry and for all Mark Rantall's vigour in engaging with the top end and for all of Matthew Rowe's enmity towards the AFA and wanting to be the one true standard of professionalism (even when FASEA has decreed that the CFP is effectively worthless), the financial planning industry has been derailed by the crooks and the shanks married to $$$$$$$$s from sales-driven advisers to bonus-driven banking execs. Charge everything to super and do little for it and build a passive income, churn life insurance every two years, charge upfront fees to switch product every year or two and actively work to hang onto the "glory days" of the 80s and 90s and you too can fund your retirement with a 3 to 4-times sale. Post RC, there's no wonder we've dropped from 28.000 to 19,000 advisers and no wonder we're on a path to drop to 13 or 14,000 and no wonder Dante is out there looking for other opportunities. Structural transition is fun isn't it! Those advisers that are nimble, younger, highly qualified and driven will pick up the pieces (and hoping that the legislative and regulatory settings are eventually conducive to a professional advisory sector and not just to industry super intrafund advice).
you make sense, but why did rowe have it in for AFA ? they are doing much the same as the FPA weren't they in terms of professionalizing the industry and had a professional program of their own didn't they?
Only younger are able? Wow, you actually said it.
Makes sense. What's the average age of an adviser? 55? If you lined up 10 advisers from 55 to 70, I reckon more than a few of them would have been life company agents / multi-agents in the 80s and 90s that came through AMP, Royal Sun Alliance, Prudential, National Mutual, Australian Casualty & Life etc. Their sales programs were brilliant. They were there to sell, not provide professional advice. A lot of them are still here today doing to same thing and many sweating over passing the FASEA exam. So I agree with the comment on "younger" as a broad statement (maybe "predominantly younger") since I know a lot of really good, well qualified older advisers as well that will survive this wash out.
ASIC said they had it wrong about "churing" less than 1% of switching. Trowbridge said he got LIF wrong, even though ASIC are still conducting a review. Industry destroyed by unsuitable and just plain poor legislation, and Dante sat on his hands.
Good comment, I agree. Trowbridge and LIF hasn't saved the life insurance industry. Its killed distribution and accelerated the downfall. Good work FSC. It still happens though - wait till the end of the retention period and re-write the risk. I think the bit about charging everything to super is on the money given the heavy handed approach from government and regulators on fee renewal. Re Dante, I suppose when you charge headlong toward a perceived nirvana of professionalism, the carnage cause along the way is collateral damage. That would have been a good question for the FASEA exam - its it ethical to wipe out businesses and livelihoods if the end justifies the means?
Excellent summary of the failings of the industry over the last 20 years. I admit to having a little dip at the departing boss of the FPA in these comments, but I am also comfortable to put my name to my comment unlike many of the keyboard warriors out there - as they say, keep it classy folks! !
That said, it is obvious advisers are feed up with where the industry has now landed and the total mess it is in. It seems many are blaming the FPA for failing to pushback harder and earlier against the unworkable over regulation that kept getting dumped on the industry. In its current form, advice is now officially out of reach of the majority of consumers…something needs to change dramatically, every adviser is aware of this.
Some good points, but not in relation to the CFP. Most unis provide full credit for the CFP course when enrolling in their FP degree courses. They recognise it as university level training. FASEA's devaluation of the CFP course is a reflection of FASEA's incompetence and corruption rather than the merits of the course.
Of course the unis don't provide any credit for "grandfathered" CFPs. Everyone knows they are a con. With Dante gone at least we won't have to listen to his scripted and utterly unconvincing rationalisation for maintaining grandfathered CFPs. Hopefully the new CEO has sense enough to fix that lingering mistake from 20 years ago.
Add new comment