FoFA and the art of fee disclosure statements

Fee disclosure statements are the leading headache driving financial advisers to their associations for guidance on complying with the Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) reforms.

Both the Financial Planning Association (FPA) and the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) confirmed to Professional Planner that they have experienced a spike in inquiries from members this month, adding anecdotally that there are deep levels of concern over whether they will be ready in time.

“Most members contacting us at the moment are not confident but it is natural that everyone has some doubts,” said Dante De Gori, general manager of policy and conduct at the FPA.

He added that over 50 per cent of inquiries from FPA members pertained to fee disclosure statements with grandfathering arrangements in ASIC’s conflicted remuneration guidance also causing anxiety.

Brad Fox, CEO of the AFA, said the industry was still waiting for more detail from the regulator and called for the delay in the implementation of some elements of FoFA, such as grandfathering, until this information has been provided.

“Despite every effort to be ready on time, many of our members will be playing catch-up from July 1,” he said.

Fox added that while the technology exists to automate much of the fee disclosure statement, in many cases it had only recently been installed and, in some cases, advisers have had to take on additional staff to add data to and operate the system.

For a legal view on fee disclosure statements, click here.