FPEC awards grant to regulatory impact study

In a statement, the association said the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and University of South Australia (UniSA) were this year’s grant winners from the Financial Planning Education Council.

The grants are sponsored by the FPA and MLC, and recognise “those that have demonstrated a commitment to support the development of financial planning as an academic discipline”, the association said.

Funds for QUT will go towards a research project on the relationship between financial literacy, engagement and decision-making in young adults conducted by Elisabeth Sinnewe, a senior lecturer at the university’s business school.

“It is important for our young people to start off on the right financial path,” Dr Sinnewe said.

“Our objective is to understand how to improve the financial habits of young people just starting out in their careers.”

At UniSA, finance professor Chandra Krishnamurti will conduct research into the impact of industry reform on lower socioeconomic groups’ access to advice.

“We thank FPEC, the FPA and MLC Advice for supporting this timely independent and scholarly review of the impact of regulatory reform on the cost of and access to financial advice,” Mr Krishnamurti said.

Each university will receive $10,000 towards their respective projects.

“We congratulate QUT and UniSA on their outstanding work,” FPA chief executive Dante De Gori said.

“Academic research continues to be valuable to the profession, with many projects resulting in papers being published in the Financial Planning Research Journal.”