In its post-FSI submission to Treasury, the FPA said ASIC’s “technology-neutral” approach to regulation may no longer be appropriate and said the government should be on the lookout for potential risks and conflicts of interest.
However, in a statement to ifa, Ms Wivell Plater said the regulatory regime for robo-advice products is already well-established.
“Robo-advice is already subject to all the same regulatory requirements as adviser-delivered advice,” she explained.
“It shouldn’t need different or additional regulation regarding the application of the best interests duty or managing conflicts of interest because it provides essentially the same services as advice delivered by human beings and the potential for conflicts of interest is no different.
“There is already a great deal of ASIC guidance on these requirements which, in my experience in dealing with robo-advice businesses, is quite sufficient.”
Automated tools can also be programmed to manage conflicts of interest and adhere to compliance requirements, unlike human advisers, Ms Wivell Plater added.
But while arguing that the current regulatory regime is adequate, she did say that provisions allowing for more “innovative forms of dislclosure and electronic dealing” is required in the wake of the emergence of robo-advice tools.
Maybe Ms Wivell Plater should try taking out some life insurance on line or sett up a managed fund and se what sort of advice she gets.
She will not get an SOA it is all retail with disclaimers everywhere saying that you are selecting this product without advice. so where does she sit then. If you don’t acknowledge that you are doing this of your own choosing you cannot get any further in the process. No advice here so no risk to the provider but all risk to the purchaser the customer.
Me thinks this is how I should operate under FOFA – just get clients to sign off that they are selecting the products and leave it at that – no advice just a placement service.
Way to go – no risk to me then.
So much for helping people what a load of rubbish but this unfortunately is where the industry is being driven.