The Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA) says it is looking forward to working closely with the Investment and Financial Services Association (IFSA), as IFSA announced plans to broaden its policy agenda and address a wider range of macro-economic issues.

The chief executive of IFSA, John Brogden, announced yesterday that from next month the association will change its name to the Financial Services Council (FSC), and that it will actively speak out and seek to influence the development of broader policy issues.

Brogden said funds managed by IFSA members would grow from the current level of $1.4 trillion to $5 trillion by 2030, that it managed money on behalf of almost all Australians, and that the association had a responsibility to “exert a stronger influence on the economic environment in which we invest on their behalf”.

Brogden called for an increase in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and a removal of a range of State taxes, which he described as inefficient and an impediment to Australia’s economic development. And he called on the Government to resolve quickly the impasse with the mining industry over the Resource Profits Super Tax (RSPT).

Deen Sanders (pictured, left), acting chief executive of the FPA, says the association broadly supports the move by IFSA to more actively address macro-economic issues.
“We’re obviously looking forward to working with IFSA, or the FSC, and better understanding the way the FSC may see its role chaining in relation to direct interaction in the advice community,” Sanders says.

He says the FPA will be happy for the FSC to address “bigger-picture issues”, and to help FPA members “feed into broader policy discussions”.

An estimated 80 per cent of financial planners belong to what IFSA calls financial advice networks (FANs) owned by IFSA members. IFSA has denied that its move is the first salvo in a looming turf war between the numerous bodies that represent different components of the financial services industry.

“We’re yet to see the detail on how they intend to change the way
they engage or direct their energy towards the advice community,”
Sanders says.

“The FPA has been the dominant voice in this area, and we believe we will continue to be.”