Financial planning under scrutiny at Royal Commission
Financial planning executives face a grilling before the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services industry next week, with the major banks and AMP scheduled to deal with fees for no service, platform fees and inappropriate financial advice.
The Royal Commission has confirmed the appearance of Westpac, the Commonwealth Bank, ANZ and AMP in the second round of public hearings in Melbourne next week, alongside the Financial Planning Association (FPA), the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) and the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) to discuss the disciplinary regime around the financial advice profession.
The five topic areas to be traversed during the public hearings are:
- Fees for no service
- Investment platform fees
- Inappropriate financial advice
- Improper conduct by financial advisers
- The disciplinary regime for the financial advice profession
The Royal Commission said the second round of public hearings would consider the conduct of financial services entities that provide financial advice to consumers, including the treatment of consumers, compliance with the law and community standards and expectations, and the sufficiency of the current legal and regulatory structure.
Recommended for you
As the first quarter of 2024 comes to a close, Money Management looks back on the corporate regulator’s bans and AFSL cancellations in the financial advice sector.
Insignia Financial is holding ‘relatively steady’ onto its rank as Australia’s second-largest financial advice licensee after the Godfrey Pembroke exit but Count is hot on its heels.
Liberal senator Slade Brockman has said the government needs to have a “cold hard look” at the level of regulation in the financial advice space and the costs of running a business.
FAAA chief executive, Sarah Abood, has warned changes in the first tranche of the QAR legislation around advice fees documentation could create more work for advisers rather than less.