ASIC: Cancelling a license is a ‘fee-for-service’ model
The corporate regulator has detailed the process of cancelling a financial services license, reminding members of a PJC hearing that tearing up a license is not straightforward and involves checks and costs that need to be recouped similar to any fee-for-service arrangement.
January 11, 2022
Anderson takes charge at AFA as Morgan-Banda resigns
After getting a run as acting CEO for six months last year, the AFA's new chief executive, Phil Anderson, says he's keen to tackle the role in a permanent capacity and push the association's agenda with a broader range of stakeholders.
January 10, 2022
Treasury launches Standards site as FASEA shut down
Advisers will now be able to access information about the government-mandated Code of Ethics and associated standards on a new site launched by Treasury over the break, as the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority's own site has been closed down.
January 10, 2022
Professional Planner: Top ten stories in 2021
The stories that delivered for Professional Planner readers fit a similar profile to most years, with industry news, regulatory and compliance breakdowns and issue-focussed analysis top of mind for advisers. Here are the top ten for 2021.
December 17, 2021
Hume to consult on 10-year degree exemption, new entrant changes
The Morrison government intends to follow Labor's lead and give advisers with 10-years of experience and a clean record an exemption from the relevant degree requirement. The industry's journey to professionalism is getting put on hold, while advisers in the middle of studying for degree equivalency have a choice to make.
December 16, 2021
How much damage would the ALP’s degree carve-out cause?
Debate has flared about the merits of Labor's plan to give experienced advisers a free pass on degree equivalency. Is the proposal a necessary concession, or a cheap carve-out that will unwind much of the industry's progress? "We want to call ourselves professional," one adviser says. "What other professional doesn't need a degree?"
December 14, 2021
How to support your client’s ESG preferences and stay out of ASIC’s way
In the wake of the REST case (where a member took the fund to court for failing to protect his savings against climate change), and FASEA's exhortation that advisers consider the "broader long term interests" of clients, no one can dismiss ESG considerations as a passing fad.
December 13, 2021
ALP looks to wind back advice standards with degree exemption
The proposal could stem the tide of experienced advisers exiting the industry, create more avenues for consumers to access advice and leave more mentors for young advisers to learn from. But it would also be a step backwards for standards and a clear misstep in the industry's journey to professionalism.
December 10, 2021
ASIC creates dedicated webpage for advice
The corporate regulator has published a new web page on its site specifically dedicated to financial advice, which has the stated intention of "consolidating and centralising all financial advice related content" for AFSLs, advisers and affiliates.
December 09, 2021
Standard 3 in perspective: Look to other professions
If the financial advice profession had spent years comparing itself to other professions, it would have been realised that while adviser obligations regarding conflict of interest are certainly more onerous than those borne by doctors and accountants, they are far more lenient than those borne by actuaries. While many in the profession feel singled out, advisers actually land somewhere in the middle.
December 09, 2021
Sarah Abood named new FPA CEO
The Financial Planning Association today announced the successor to outgoing CEO Dante De Gori, with former Profile Financial Services CEO and HOPE Housing Funds Management executive Sarah Abood due to start the role in mid-January 2022.
December 09, 2021
