Former Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) president, Deborah Kent represents the only practicing financial planner appointed to the Government’s Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA).
The other appointee with a strong financial planning background is former Financial Planning Association chairman and now Countplus chief executive, Matthew Rowe.
The appointments have been broadly welcomed by the major financial planning organisations, with the AFA’s current president, Marc Bineham noting Kent’s status as a still-practicing financial planner.
The other appointees to the body reflect a strong leaning towards consumer and legal/regulatory issues.
Chairing the new body is Catherine Walter, who is the deputy chairman of Victorian funds Management Corporation and a member of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s Payment Systems Board, while the superannuation funds will have a voice via former Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) executive, Stephen Somogyi who is a director at Guild Group and UniSuper.
Also appointed to the body is Financial Ombudsman Services director and former chair of the Consumer’s Federation of Australia, Catriona Lowe and former co-chief executive of the Consumer Action Law Centre and now director of the Victorian Legal Services Board, Carolyn Bond, along with former National Seniors Australia chief executive, Michael O’Neil, Simon Lonstaff from the Ethics Centre and Griffith University academic, Professor Mark Brimble.
