Independents offer less certainty on FOFA
Amid efforts to extract amendments to the first tranche of the Government's Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) legislation, the Financial Planning Association (FPA) has relaunched the do-it-yourself package designed to help members lobby parliamentarians.
The focus of the lobbying continues to be on key independents including Andrew Wilkie and Rob Oakeshott, as well as members of the Parliamentary Joint Committee to which the Government's legislation has been referred.
However Money Management understands that while Oakeshott earlier this year signalled his concern about the implications and costs associated with the two-year 'opt-in', he has proved harder to pin down on the issue in recent meetings with financial planners.
"He is willing to talk and listen but he is playing his cards pretty close to his chest," one source said.
The chairman of the PJC, Labor backbencher Bernie Ripoll, last month told the Association of Financial Advisers' national conference on the Gold Coast that while the FOFA legislation had moved beyond the original bipartisan recommendations of his committee, he was comfortable with the outcome.
By comparison Opposition spokesman on financial services Senator Mathias Cormann has signalled Coalition members of the committee will be arguing for specific changes to legislation.
Both FPA chief executive Mark Rantall and the chief executive of the Association of Financial Advisers Richard Klipin have said the FOFA legislation currently before the Parliament is unacceptable in its present form.
Rantall said today that the PJC had afforded financial planners an opportunity to restate their concerns.
AUTHOR
Mike Taylor
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