‘Look beyond the noise’ politicians urged
Politicians tasked with raising education and professional standards in the financial advice sector are being urged by the Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA) to “look beyond the noise” of vested interests.
Speaking at the Parliamentary Joint Committee (PJC) on Corporations and Financial Services Inquiry into proposals to lift the professional, ethical and education standards in the financial services industry, hearing yesterday, FPA chief executive, Mark Rantall, said the profession needed to be at the centre of the push to raise standards.
“As the leading professional body for financial planners in Australia we are asking for this committee to look beyond the noise and vested interest from those whom do not speak for advice or individual professional financial planning practitioners,” he said.
“The solution that we all seek must rest with the financial planning professional community, of which the FPA represents over 50 per cent.”
Rantall reiterated the FPA’s call for an independent body to be “gifted” to the profession to become the “gatekeeper of minimum education standards and requirements” for those providing personal financial advice to consumers, as outlined in the association’s submission to the PJC.
“Now is not the time to reinvent the wheel,” he said.
“We already have a reputable body in Financial Planning Education Council (FPEC) that can uphold the standards set by the profession.
“Our proposed framework would allow FPEC to do just that for the industry, without being tied to any one association or group.”
AUTHOR
Nicholas O'Donoghue
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