The Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s (ASIC) announcement yesterday to significantly lift the training framework for financial advisers could mean the end of the current minimum standard Regulatory Guide 146 (RG146).
Consultation Paper 153 Licensing: Training and assessment framework for financial advisers (CP153) sets out to refresh industry standards by proposing that all new and existing advisers providing advice on Tier 1 products are to pass a competency certification exam.
In addition, all advisers will be required to take a knowledge update review every three years and meet ongoing continual professional development standards. New entrants will need to undertake a supervision period for at least one year full-time or equivalent.
As the shortcomings of RG146 in training and assessment requirements have been so palpable, CP153 could be a viable framework to end the variations in training standards and respond to the growing calls from industry associations, registered training organisations (RTOs) and financial planners themselves to set a new standard that actually matches the profession of financial planning.
In the December 2010 – January 2011 issue of Professional Planner, an ASIC spokesperson said that “informal discussions with industry stakeholders about the effectiveness of the training in RG146 are being conducted”.
At the time, no changes to the policy were being planned.
ASIC commissioner Greg Medcraft said in a press release that ASIC’s review “identified concerns about current training standards and highlighted that change in required to increase consumer confidence in the financial advice industry and to encourage professionalism”.
He said the proposal is “designed to improve the quality of advice by ensuring that all financial advisers achieve a uniform minimum standard that is consistent with developments in the industry both here and overseas”.
Feedback on CP153 has been requested by June 1, 2011.
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.