FPA calls on Govt for FSRA assistance
The Financial Planning Association (FPA) has called on the Government to offer incentives and assistance to financial planners in transitioning their businesses over into the new Financial Services Reform legislation.
Small dealer groups are facing the greatest burden in making the transition to the Financial Services Reform Act, according to a survey of members of the FPA.
The survey found that financial planners take an average of two weeks to complete the electronic license required by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), while costing them more than $8000.
A number of respondents criticised the arrangements for being designed as a “one size fits all” approach. According to the FPA, there was a perception that there was no difference between the transition requirements for small, medium and large dealer groups.
The five most common reasons given by respondents who had not yet started the process were: planners still waiting to see experiences of other planners before complying; planners ‘waiting for the dust to settle’; a perceived lack of flexibility in the processing of applications by ASIC; uncertainty about aspects of the legislation; and planners believing there was a need to evaluate current systems and processes before applying.
“Incentives and targeted assistance need to be provided so that market participants transition early avoiding a rush of applications at the end of the transition period,” FPA chief executive Ken Breakspear says.
“The FPA would like to see the government offer assistance to businesses transitioning into FSR as they did for businesses moving into the GST regime.”
As such the FPA believes that $10 million in assistance would markedly increase the numbers of small to medium practices make the transition to the new regime at an earlier stage.
Recommended for you
With the final tally for FY25 now confirmed, how many advisers left during the financial year and how does it compare to the previous year?
HUB24 has appointed Matt Willis from Vanguard as an executive general manager of platform growth to strengthen the platform’s relationships with industry stakeholders.
Investment manager Drummond Capital Partners has announced a raft of adviser-focused updates, including a practice growth division, relaunched manager research capabilities, and a passive model portfolio suite.
When it comes to M&A activity, the share of financial buyers such as private equity firms in Australia fell from 67 per cent to 12 per cent in the last financial year.
