Liberal Party vows to oppose banning of commissions
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Shadow Federal Treasurer Joe Hockey has told the Financial Planning Association national conference that the Liberal Party will not support the banning of commissions for financial planners.
"I want to give you this commitment today. The Liberal Party will not support the banning of commissions. We will not do that," he said.
Commissions are part of the revenue of many financial planning practices, he said.
However, Hockey said the Liberal party through Financial Services Reform had always opposed 'secret' commissions.
The client should know whether the advice they are receiving is influenced by remuneration, he said.
"If you take a fiduciary obligation to act in the best interest of the client, it discounts the need for significant reform of commissions," Hockey said.
There is already a legal obligation for advisers to put the interests of their clients first, Hockey said, because if advisers put commissions first, they will be subject to legal penalties.
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