No guarantees on further collapses, says Sinodinos
The Government cannot guarantee there will not be another major financial product collapse but it is ensuring that it has the best possible regulatory regime in place to avoid it happening, according to the Assistant Treasurer, Arthur Sinodinos.
Addressing the SMSF Professionals’ Association of Australia (SPAA) conference in Brisbane, Sinodinos suggested that there had been an unrealistic expectation that legislation such as Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) could prevent such collapses - and this was simply not the case.
The minister also used his discussion at SPAA to thank former High Court judge, Sir Anthony Mason, for clarifying the legal position of best interests in the context of the Government’s changes to FOFA.
In a seeming reference to recent industry super fund statements, Sinodinos said some urban myths seemed to have been set loose on best interests, and Sir Anthony had made an important point and placed the legal underpinnings of best interest in the correct context.
The minister said that client best interest was not only covered by common law, as stipulated by Sir Anthony, but also Corporations Law.
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.
