Planners’ reputation rests with co-regulatory model: FPA
Restoring the reputation of financial planners could depend on a co-regulatory model, where the industry sets and monitors its own scrupulous standards, the Financial Planning Association (FPA) says.
The creation of such a model could restore the public’s faith in the profession, according to the FPA’s CEO Mark Rantall, who cited the success of its own regulatory whisteblower service, FPA Confidential, which reportedly resolved more than 90 per cent of anonymously reported incidents since 2010.
“The story behind these numbers is of a professional system operating to self-govern against perceived or actual misdemeanour,” Rantall said.
“It points us to the timely conclusion that we must now embed a relevant, consumer-centric professional framework in Australia that separates industry from profession and product sales from advice.”
Rantall also echoed his long-held support for universal regulatory standards.
“The recent call to lift educational standards, appropriately phased in, is a sensible and enduring approach and FPA supports this principle without question,” he said.
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