A Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services inquiry into financial products and services in Australia aims to identify and weed out the industry’s shonks, according to the chairman of the inquiry.
Labor MP Bernie Ripoll says the majority of financial planners in Australia do a professional job, but there’s a rogue minority at work that gives the whole industry a bad name.
Ripoll says the inquiry will “begin a restoration of trust” in the financial planning industry and its practitioners, which has been undermined by recent investor losses.
The inquiry’s terms of reference include: the role of financial advisers; the general regulatory environment for these products and services; the role played by commission arrangements relating to product sales and advice, including the potential for conflicts of interest; the need for appropriate disclosure; and remuneration models for financial advisers.
Submissions to the inquiry close on July 31.
