Education distinction needed for comprehensive and limited advisers



Comprehensive financial advisers should have a Bachelor of Financial Planning degree and limited advisers should only complete a subset of the degree, Mentor Education believes.
The firm's managing director, Mark Sinclair, said the government needs to legislate around a clear distinction between comprehensive and limited financial advisers.
Sinclair said accountants, life insurance, and other advisers seeking to provide personal advice in self-managed superannuation funds, and who limit their advice to retail clients should be exempt from the requirement to do a whole degree.
"At an absolute minimum these limited financial advisers should have completed that subset of a Bachelor of Financial Planning degree comprising of two foundation subjects, with ethics being mandatory, plus a minimum three core subjects focusing on their area of interest or specialisation," he said.
"On the other hand, those advisers who want to provide full financial plans and holistic advice should be required by law to do a standalone 24-subject Bachelor of Financial Planning degree."
Sinclair noted depending on existing qualifications and experience, existing financial planners are likely to qualify for credits/exemptions for a great deal of the subjects required by the new legislation.
He said a financial planning degree did not exist yet, it would not take long for the relevant material to be developed and approved.
"Certainly a five-year transition period for the development of such materials would suffice," Sinclair said.
Recommended for you
The new financial year has got off to a strong start in adviser gains, helped by new entrants, after heavy losses sustained in June.
Michael McCorry, chief investment officer at BlackRock Australia, has detailed how investors are reconsidering their 60/40 portfolios as macro uncertainty highlight the benefits of liquid alternatives.
Having reset its market focus to high-net-worth advisers, Praemium’s administration solution has been selected by Bell Potter in a deal that increases the platform's funds under administration by $6 billion.
High transition rates from financial advisers have helped Netwealth’s funds under administration rise by $3.7 billion in the fourth quarter of FY25.