The second Professional Planner Dealer Group Summit has concluded with delegates expressing both support for and frustration with the Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) reforms that underpinned all of the sessions.
With the Blue Mountains providing a suitably grandiose back-drop, the cold weather proved a stark contrast to some at times heated debate as industry heavyweights were able to question Bernie Ripoll, chairman of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services, and newly appointed ASIC commissioner, Peter Kell.
Ripoll reiterated July 1 as the start date for FoFA legislation and it now appears that a transition period of one to two years is the best the industry can expect – and may begin to lobby for – as dealer groups and advisers scramble to comply with components of the reforms that are still far from clear.
One delegate complained that the Federal Member for Oxley lives in “Bernie World”, an environment where he suggested things are far more straightforward than the one in which many financial planners and dealer groups operate.
However, most expressed appreciation that Ripoll had attended the on-the-record Q&A session with no topics off limits.
Questioned on the industry towards vertical integration in the face of FoFA reforms, Ripoll said it was never the legislation’s intention to break down any particular business model and the trend was “a natural part of the commercial world”.
He added that the reforms would empower consumers which would in turn influence competition as standards were raised.
On the controversial issue of opt in, Ripoll revealed that this could be as simple as one text message to a client every two years although this was later questioned by one of the lawyers present.
Others pointed out that the issue remained soliciting a timely reply from the client.
For his part, Kell committed the regulator to a greater role in bridging the gap between government policy and the financial planning community’s thirst for detail.
He also detailed some of the greater powers ASIC will be charged with under FoFA which includes declining requests for a licence based on how individuals may act in the future.
“This is an industry that has had perennial issues with bad apples,” said Kell.
