Appearing on the latest episode of the ifa Show podcast, Coastal Advice Group’s Daniel Brown applauded last week’s news of the ASIC levy relief, but he said collaboration is essential, as there are “politicians making decisions about things that they have no idea”.
However, Mr Brown added that those in the industry also have the opportunity to “step up”.
“There’s potentially two million customers from banks that no longer have an adviser and if the adviser numbers are down and at least half of them are looking for a new home, if you can be found and trusted… there’s a great opportunity in front of us,” he said.
“So, for me, I’m maybe too optimistic sometimes, but I’m a big believer that financial advice and getting it to more Australians is going to be beneficial to us in the future without the banks involved, and perhaps then ASIC take the foot off our throats a bit more.”
Mr Brown’s comments comes as ASIC prepares to implement a number of new reforms next month, including changes to information sharing, breach reporting and hawking.
Meanwhile, it was also revealed this month that total regulatory costs in the advice sector almost doubled in the last few years to $59.59 million, well over a 100 per cent increase.
“We had to remove some of the people from the industry. We now shouldn’t be penalised moving forward from the past, and perhaps a more consultative process and getting us involved with the leaders of the advice industry to help what the future looks like for all involved,” Mr Brown said of ASIC’s regulation on the advice sector.
“I think, ideally, that would then benefit everyone, not only the advice community, but Australians trusting advisers to deliver great-quality financial advice.”
Listen to the full podcast with Mr Brown here.
ASIC & Frydenberg over the last 8 years have utterly strangled Real Advisers at every opportunity.
Even now as they announce so called pro business ASIC they are killing Advisers with ever increasing BS Regs & Red Tape costs.
How do these Canberra clowns say we want to reduce red tape compliance costs but at the same time hammer out more & more & more & more crap compliance costs.
It is mind numbing.
Actions are what counts Frydenberg & ASIC and your actions are a disaster every time.
Out with Frydenberg !!!!
Out with Hume !!!!!
Out with this LNP disaster !!!!!
And clean ASIC out completely and start again. Especially Ms Press.
HNW – – > Financial Advisers
Middle Australia – – > Industry funds/ Future Fund (coming soon)
Everyone else – – > Centrelink
An accountant can give you tax advice with no SoA. A solicitor can also give you advice and act on your behalf with no SoA. Basically, every professional service provider can provide advice without an SOA.
An accountant can give you investment and superannuation advice with no SoA, no licence, no disclosure, no qualifications, no expertise, no EDR membership, and no care factor from the regulators. So can real estate agents, mortgage brokers, and Tik Tok spruikers.
The blame lies squarely with Josh Frydenberg and the Liberal government. They have allowed a bureaucracy to get bloated in the way every bureaucracy grows – introducing more rules and more red-tape.
Less advisers but better advisers is the future. AI, more flexible platforms and improving general advice from platform providers is reducing the need for on-going advice from advisers for many clients. The future successful advice practices will be reducing their costs and time pressures by incorporating “remote servicing” into their businesses perhaps at a very minimum fee and concentrating on the high value clients who really need on-going service for which they will pay. For the record I’m a self funded retiree advice client and I do almost everything myself and only engage my adviser on a pay for time or task basis. This model works for me and for my adviser because he’s free to gain more clients and spend more time with clients who need on-going paid advice. There are 1000’s of people like me who don’t want to pay annual advisers fees of $6k+ but appreciate where an adviser adds value and are happy to pay for it.
Mr TC, unfortunately due to compliance, adhoc and single task provided advice is impractical on any commercial level. The time to deliver ‘your’ as needed advice is almost the exact same requirement for full advice clients. I’d suggest your adviser continues to offer you this as recognition of the previous relationship. It’s not a long term workable model however.
Agreed, whilst this makes sense to a lot of Advice clients or future advice clients. The Canberra bureaucratic clowns have made (intentionally made try to kill advisers) this process of Episodic Advice ridiculously expensive for what is required, excessively compliance risky and this not cost beneficial for Advisers.
Frydenberg & ASICs Ms Press are to most stupid & costly over regulators Advisers & clients have ever seen.
Well I am choking and gasping for air as I write, being strangled and crushed by red tape. To those of you that respond with – “accept it, deal with it, and get on with it”, that’s fine if you have sufficient support and scale. I am not coping and don’t know how long I can last, working 7 days a week just to try and survive.
I totally understand. I ceased being a financial planner two weeks ago and it feels amazing!!! It annoys me when they say people are leaving because they don’t want to do the extra education. I’m actually doing a post grad diploma in a different area now. (As well as working in a niche area I already had and started expanding when I started to see the writing on the wall a few years ago).
It’s the regulation, the fear of not knowing what you will have undoubtedly missed on some detail that’s actually irrelevant to the client and endless reporting of what someone is paying you in multiple forms that did me in.
It’s the lack of flexibility now to provide a service in many different ways that actually suit a client.
It’s the workload and exposure to litigation whilst earning less than most stress free jobs.
I just felt that as an advisor, would I be able to look my clients in the eyes if they said, ‘my child wants to become a financial planner’ and not choke and laugh.
Like you I was a sole practitioner and I started planning my exit as far back as when Opt In came in.
So, I hear you. Just take your time and figure out your exit. It sounds as though you have the work ethic. It’s just the unfairness that is so galling.
You are a good person Davey, like most financial advisers. That’s why you are having trouble facing the truth. You need to jack up your fees and either a) cut your clients: or b) employ staff to help. Whether its a or b depends on how many clients accept the fee increase. Roll out the change with conviction and positivity. Do it over a period of 12 months, after face to face meetings resume. It will take time, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. You can do it Davey! Best of luck.
Treasury just don’t care…they’ve already said job losses are acceptable and inevitable in this sector and eventually other “market forces” will fill the void… ( we can read between the lines and say tik tok and Industry super fund call centre) …no point in wishing or hoping…that attitude is now an ingrained belief at ASIC and Treasury that won’t be fixed for decades.
headline says it all
The industry is massively over regulated. What is not to understand ?