The financial planning industry is being given undue attention by politicians due to the organised lobbying abilities of other segments of the financial services sector, Wealth Within chief analyst Dale Gillham told ifa.
“The big companies and the industry super funds are constantly in the ear of government and that’s not in the interests of your local and independent financial planner to create a better service,” he said.
“The [Financial Planning Association] tries to lobby government and does a good job but can’t compete with the big money and the organised lobbying of the industry super and managed funds,” he added.
While Gillham conceded some of the government regulations of the financial advice space are worthwhile – including the Bill enshrining the term ‘financial planner’ and elements of the Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) – Gillham said government focus on the industry was “narrow” and that consumers could be better served through regulation of other industries.
“The government keeps banging on about FOFA but not that many Australians actually have a financial adviser,” he said.
“By contrast, the biggest financial decision most Australians will ever make is the family home and yet the government doesn’t focus anywhere near as much on mortgage brokers or builders, even though many more people experience being ripped off by these people than by financial planners.”
The recipe is simple by ironically both the large funds and the industry bodies. Regulate the independent, or independently minded, into oblivion so they can control the supply chain top to bottom. The big banks have bought everything except the minds of the true professionals. The industry funds dumb it down, provide appalling service as we are all the same….right?? Meanwhile the union flunkies get fat on the so called “not for profits”.
It’s a joke of a system built by a joke of a government.
Advisers losing political battle.
The problems for a long time has been that too many advisers were not polically savy enough to understand how they were being conned and screwed .
Some of the older ones knew, but were classed as out of touch with modern developments.
And so it will be. Let’s say that the younger ones were way outclassed.
The FPA are to blame. They are a toothless tiger, a pointless body that just points to more eduction as being the be all & end all so they can flog fees. This FP industry is a circus and has no real body that can avhieve anything that is needed to help the clent in a real way, hence 40 page soa’s & no planner seeing poor people or people who need advice without hefty “charges”.
sadly our concerns fall on deaf ears with the likes of Shorten , Gillard etc , Jobs for the boys and the union flunkies, what a sad state of affairs our country is in,,
Spot on emkay. It is all about the flow of money. The more money that goes into the Industry Super Funds the more money they can give to their mates in the Labor Government. Plus there are jobs for the ex-union leaders in the Industry Funds. This is a national disgrace.
Govt doesnt fixate on mortgage brokers & builders because THIS govt & in particular Bill Shorten are doing what their union bosses & by default “industry funds” tell them to do!