Addressing the AIOFP conference in Hobart on Thursday, Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson said he had pushed for the controversial and transformative inquiry after many of the major financial institutions had failed to satisfactorily answer the questions of parliamentarians when it came to issues of misconduct.
“After sitting on 15 or 20 inquiries and listening to stories of victims of financial crime, and having worked in banks and financial services companies myself, I felt it was really important that we fixed it,” Mr Whish-Wilson said.
“Because I believe all Australians need financial advice, every Australian should have access to it, and that the financial advice industry is critically important.”
Senator Whish-Wilson, who as Greens Treasury spokesperson voted numerous times for motions to establish a royal commission into banks and financial services, said he believed the inquiry was the only way to compel the major banks to adequately respond to allegations of misconduct in their advice arms once and for all.
“We needed to go through this process because it was dragging on and on, and only a royal commission had the powers to compel witnesses and search premises and seek documents and get to the bottom of this,” he said.
Mr Whish-Wilson added that while the inquiry had certainly driven significant legislative change, it remained to be seen whether this would be a positive for the industry.
“It has led to substantial reform, but the jury is still out on where that takes us and where that leads us,” he said.
The comments follow data from industry M&A consultant Steve Prendeville that the advice industry had shrunk by 26 per cent since the final report of the commission was handed down in early 2019.
However, Mr Prendeville said the exits had been predominantly from salaried bank advisers, and that the banks leaving the industry following the reputational fallout from the inquiry had largely been for the best.
“The future is brighter – there’s been a restoration of trust. That trust deficit was from the banks, and the banks’ exit is actually affirming for us as a recognised profession,” he said.
“I believe our industry is in a better state even after the last three years, to come through the fire we’ve come from – there’s been adaptation and better businesses have come out of it.”
God Bless those of ours who could not see a way thru, along with your families, and those who are struggling with the emotion of this complete disaster that is predicated on, at best, a tenuous basis; my God, if this wasn’t as serious as it is, you’d think it was a monty python film, but its no laughing matter by a long way. Apparently, its gonna be good for those that can stick it out and come thru this ‘re-set’? Too bad about the victims along the way, eh?
newspaper today listed union fund as top 20 returning funds…. must have called Madoff b4 releasing their returns Madoff would have said just make up your returns, its not like any one will check rip bernie
The Royal Commission was absolutely justified. Financial Planning was a backyard industry riddled with conflicts of interests. The industry is a little less so now which is great but we are well short of becoming true professionals until all conflicts are removed. Serious conflicts remain so serious regulation is still required. Consumers will flock to advice to when advisers aren’t advising people to buy in-house product, charging percentage fees for collecting assets under advice and taking commissions for insuring people up to the eyeballs. True professionalism will enable the reduction in regulation and advice will become a much more enjoyable for all.
Sorry PWW. The jury has returned, and delivered a resounding verdict of FAILURE.
Hayne had a golden opportunity to fix financial advice by getting rid of the two biggest structural issues that contribute to most of its problems… vertical integration and AFSL based licensing. Everyone expected him to do so, and were preparing for it in advance. Unfortunately Hayne just spewed forth a long list of bureaucratic rules, that do absolutely nothing to improve consumer protection. They only increase the already high cost and complexity of licensed advice, and end up driving more consumers into the arms of unregulated cowboys.
What a wasted opportunity for genuine reform the RC was. Great for the media though.
Im still perplexed as to how Peter Whish-Wilson has held onto his senate seat for so long. He is nothing more than an inept, trouble making burden on the Australian taxpayer.
Because he is a senator from Tasmania. The senate is not democratic. In Tasmania you only need a few mates from your local sporting club to vote for you, and you’re in. As Paul Keating said… “unrepresentative swill”.
PWW is just another in a long line of politicians who blindly push their ideology but are incapable of thinking things through. It was obvious to everyone that the banks had decided to leave wealth creation before the RC was announced. The banks then wrote the terms of reference and changed tack to convince Morrison as Treasurer to allow the circus to perform. The bank’ s agenda was of always to take out self-employed advisers as collateral damage as they slammed the door shut, leaving the advice industry, and ASIC, with damaged reputations.
Labor’s spokesman on financial services is in the same boat. He pushes the line of his ideological mates in the industry funds on banning commissions on risk, without thinking through what would happen if Australia’s life offices ceased taking advised new business and were confronted with an ageing book of legacy policyholders and no incoming young and/or healthy insureds.
Mr Jones won’t address the elephant in the room – if risk advisers are not appropriately financially rewarded for introducing new policyholders to a life insurance company, the flow of new business ceases. That leaves the insurers with a book of ageing legacy policyholders who will claim, it’s just a question of when. Mr Jones shows no sign of understanding that it is the fresh new lives in a number one fund which allow life insurers to have the required long-term capital adequacy and solvency for a temporary dabble in providing default (non-underwritten) insurance products for the members of industry funds.
Amazing…just friggin amazing.
When it comes to scrutinizing this industry, regulators, politicians and the like will all happily focus on nothing but negative characteristics of this industry to make THEIR point yet now that we have an industry on its bloody knees – as a result of what big institutions and a minority of advisers did, they selectively point to the positives.
There was an abundance of positive stories about what advice and guidance advisers have provided their clients well before the Royal Commission came along – yet no one wanted to know.
Now that the industry has seen a drop of $30 Billion in revenue, advisers are leaving in droves – some tragically by suicide, insurance premiums are skyrocketing causing massive lapse rates never seen before and massive numbers of advisers dealing with unforseen levels of mental health concerns (me included), the regulators and people like this Greens Senator want to NOW start focusing on the ‘alleged’ positives.
You seriously couldn’t make this crap up!
Wanker! Go out and get a real job!
He has a real job and has to reapply every six years or so!
You have to love the hypocrites like Whish-Wilson who having made their fortune in financial services, then come out “right the wrongs” of the industry AFTER they made their millions….
What more proof does he need? The legislative response has resulted in a significant increase in costs, which has been passed onto clients. Less people are getting advice and those who are pay much more for it now. Financial planners, practices and licensees are walking out the door in droves. No one is able to provide quick and efficient scaled advice as BID makes it impossible to defend even the most frivolous complaint. ASIC is more interested in prosecuting than providing clear direction around the rules they enforce. The life insurance industry is on it’s knees.
So in sum the legislators have made it worse for the clients, the advisers, the fund managers, the insurance companies and the licensees. The only winners the union funds, ambulance chasing lawyers and the regulators who can charge whatever they want to advisers. He must be so proud of his achievements.
Why in HELL would you back legislation and not know the outcome?? Is that how politicians fix problems now?
“Jury is still out…” NO IT IS NOT!! The destruction is happening before your blind eyes.
Pushing for change without having any idea of whether that leaves us better off or not is just plain stupid and PWW should resign. Next they will close the coal power stations and then reflect whilst living in the dark if that was a good idea or not! Sheer incompetence once more from the Greens!
The Banking Royal Commission didn’t really focus on banks. The size of their wallets made sure of that.