Will the ‘provisional’ descriptor demean degree-qualified advisers?
Consumers of financial advice are unlikely to understand that a ‘Provisional Financial Adviser’ is someone undertaking a professional year, according to a survey of its members conducted by the Financial Planning Association (FPA).
In a submission to the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA) the FPA said a survey of its members had delivered a mixed response to the use of the Provisional Financial Adviser descriptor.
It said that amongst respondents’ concerns about the use of the descriptor was that it inferred that the provider “holds lesser qualifications” and would therefore reduce their credibility considerably.
The FPA said other respondents had warned that the term was ambiguous and non-descriptive in explaining that an adviser was undertaking a professional year, while still other respondents pointed out that the term did not acknowledge that the new adviser had met the education standards of a Bachelor Degree or Graduate Diploma, and passed the exam.
Respondents were also concerned that the proposed term would imply a lack of education and competency and might sound degrading to some clients
“Would a client want to work with a provisional adviser?” some respondents asked, suggesting the term would “present challenges to a provisional adviser gaining trust with a client that they already have existing competencies and qualifications”.
There were also suggestions that the association with P-plate drivers might be misleading, especially given the person would be a university graduate.
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