ifa has learnt that Mr Jones has woken up to the fact that calling employees of licensed financial institutions “qualified advisers” probably wasn’t his brightest moment and that he intends to use the Christmas break to come up with a better title.
As such, ifa has decided to offer its help by compiling a list of possible names advice givers (suggestion number one) from banks, superannuation funds and insurers can embrace without offending actually qualified advisers, and without creating unnecessary and potentially dangerous confusion among consumers.
Without further ado, here are our suggestions:
- Non-relevant provider
- Relevant provider
- Financial consultant
- Product agent
- Limited adviser
- Sales representative
- Product representative
- Restricted adviser
- Superannuation adviser
- Insurance adviser
- Banking adviser
- Conflicted sales representative
- Product adviser
- Financial support adviser
- Wealth manager
- Asset allocation consultant
- Financial literacy coach
- Fiscal planning consultant
And here are some suggestions made by ChatGPT (all clearly better than qualified adviser):
- Portfolio optimisation specialist
- Debt management counsellor
- Wealth whisperer
- Capital curator
- Coin connoisseur
- Cash flow conjurer
- Strategy sorcerer
- Prosperity pundit
- Asset artisan
- Financial feng shui master
- Dream dollar designer
If you would like to add to our list, please do so in the comments section.
*Disclaimer: this article is, at times, of a satirical nature.
‘Wealth Whisperer’ or ‘Financial Feng Shui Master’ are the most appropriate.
Sales Rep
That’s what they would be called for any other product
I like ‘Consultant’. Much better description than ‘adviser’.
‘Super consultant’. ‘Insurance consultant’.
‘Free Advice get what you pay for, Conflicted, Biased, Unethical, Unqualified, no AFCA / ASIC / FSCP Protection, Sales Pusher’
Just wondering ifa about your disclaimer “*Disclaimer: this article is, at times, of a satirical nature.” Was the satire in your comment that a Minister has come to realise that he made a grave error in judgement……..
Hi Anonymous, ifa has learnt that the Minister is indeed considering changing the name “qualified adviser”.
Pointless Provider?
Intrafund Product Flogger. Paid by the other members without their consent.
Vertically integrated product flogger
Call them ‘Jonesy’s Next Election Campaign Staff’
I don’t think it was an error at all. It was a clever distraction from the more important issues, and it has worked a treat.
Product Information Officer
[b]Product Consultant (Employed).[/b]
1. MP
2. ALP member
3. Union stooge
4. Political hack
5. All-care-and-no-responsibility
Financial/Insurance Consultant
or alternatively
Financial feng shui master
Call them “People that do not provide licensed and authorised Financial Advice”
Call them “I am not a Financial Adviser, I am not a Financial Planner”
Restricted Adviser
No. They aren’t an adviser of any type.
Industry Super Product Flogger?
‘Product Agent’ seems very clear for all concerned.
‘Qualified Adviser’ could not be more ridiculous, as they would be neither qualified, nor providing comprehensive advice.
[b][i]life company stooge[/i][/b]
[b][i]investment company stooge. [/i][/b]
[b][i]in all fairness just call them agent. life agent. investment agent. etc. [/i][/b]
Qualified consultant
‘Labor Party voter’
‘Qualified Politician’
‘ L Plater product flogger’
‘Call Centre employee’
‘Statement of Transaction administrator’
‘Spin Doctor Puppet’
So they are unqualified….? Well, how about we call them Ministers for Financial Service?
Restricted, Limited or Product Consultant
Give them honorary PHD’s and call them Doctor’s. Apparently study and experience mean nothing anyway.
Call them Ministers for Financial Advice. It would seem anyone can do it and they can do whatever they want.
Unqualified Adviser, Uneducated adviser, Unlicensed adviser.
Anything that doesn’t include the word Adviser. I thought Financial Adviser and Financial Planner were protected terms only available to people who provide personal advice? What these people will be providing is not advice, it’s information.
Product Sales Agent – which is all these people are?
Product Representative
Product agent or Sales agent
The word ‘adviser’ should not be part of their title.
Something that makes it clear you aren’t talking to a “fully” qualified expert.
How about “Minister for Financial Services”?
As suggested below they really are = Unqualified Product Floggers
But let’s make it more palatable but still call them what they are = Product Agent
Don’t call them an adviser. They aren’t.
Call them a Product Specialist.
Call those with qualifications a Qualified Adviser.
Ive already suggested to mr Jones…”resident” adviser on par with medical terminology to indicate somebody in training but not there yet…not to confuse with professional year adviser who is fully uni qualified
If they are not comparing their product with another then they are nothing other than a salesperson. And if they are comparing products, what incentives are offered by their employer to use “in-house” products and/or products that benefit the employer?
To use the term “adviser” in any way is an insult to our profession and MUST meet the definition of “deceptive or misleading”!
“Unqualified Qualified Adviser”
Mickey Mouse Qualified Adviser
Insto Lackey
RC 2.0 Qualified Architect
Jones Nepo Baby
Product representative
That name seems to best reflect what those people will actually be doing and the public should be able to easily understand the difference between that and licensed financial adviser.
Institution Employee
Union Member
Some more names for your list :
Unqualified politician
Unqualified minister
Minister for funny walks
In accounting, they are called book-keepers. An honourable profession but the difference is clear.
In law, they are paralegals. Again, honourable and clear.
In medicine there are heaps of distinctions – nurse and allied health professional.
In architecture and engineering they are called draughtsmen. They can and do design houses and machinery but there are limits.
I guess these are friendlier than Unqualified Product Flogger
Call them “Qualified Financial Planner” – that’s ok isn’t it?
Salesperson
Product Guidance Consultant
or
General Information Agent
In my view it needs to include the term Product and can’t include the term adviser as this will create confusion for clients.
My suggestion would be Product Agent or Product Consultant.
Call them what their purpose is: product salesperson (we sell consumers our products)
Restricted, Limited or Product Adviser
Union enforcer
Limited by product consultant
These are the ones from above that are grossly misleading and deceptive:
Financial consultant
Superannuation adviser
Insurance adviser
Wealth manager
Asset allocation consultant
Authorised Representative.
Product Representative.
Superannuation/Life Insurance/Investment Agent.
Qualified Doctors
Fund Spokesperson
Saleperson
non-qualfied specific product representative
I’m not sure if the article is tongue in cheek about Jones, but if it is serious, it does point to the man being a complete muppet.
“Conflicted, vertically integrated, commission receiving, FUM retaining, biased, Advice Industry regressive, in-experienced, dodgy ASIC & CSLR exempt paying, AFCA exempt, KPI daily FUM targetted, product flogging call centre person”
[b][u]Limited Financial Consultant [/u][/b]
Product Representative with appropriate disclosure of conflicted position!
Product agent –
Biased product employee
Non-compliant Code of Ethics advisers
I vote for Conflicted Sales Representative, at least it sounds vaguely accurate.
Avoid any reference to the term adviser.
Balanced to Growth option implementers
No Advice Specialists
Worst interest duty operators
Unqualified product pushers
Limited Adviser along with a written or verbal disclosure on what the limitations are.
Royal commission into bank catalysts
Call them Qualified Lawyer Accountant Architects that’ll stop the confusion
‘Restricted Adviser’ – Don’t reinvent the wheel. UK has been through same upheaval and came up with ‘Restricted Adviser’. First thing any client or potential client will ask is ‘what are you restricted too’. Most notably in the UK a “restricted advisers can only recommend solutions from one provider”. Even if that were not to be the case here, ‘restricted advisers’ is a title that will give even the layman the understanding they are dealing with some who is ‘restricted’ in what they can advise.
Sales Adviser
Sales representative – that’s it.
The fact remains that the term “Qualified Adviser” IS THE term he came up with !
Why should I worry about conflicted advice ? (Even though that isn’t even possible).
The minister for union superfunds is an abject disgrace !!!!!!
If you don’t laugh you’d cry and what good would that do? Couldn’t make it up
Is it April 1
Yes, the issue is the name. What were they thinking? They sat on the Levy recommendations for 12 months, ‘consulted with stakeholders’ to the point where the entire industry was exhausted with being asked what they think, and ‘qualified adviser’ is what they came up with?? Way to get the professional advice industry completely offside from the word Go! The answer is to take the word ‘advice’ out of it altogether. They’re really talking about ground level guides who can direct traffic. It’s triage they’re offering. Identify the key problem and point to pre-available non-product choices (save more, spend less, draw up a budget, boost super, pay off the mortgage, globally diversify, minimise fees, etc; etc;). So my suggestion is Financial Triage.
Why not call them what they are……..”product consultants”, given their advice will be limted to what can be done with and to their “product” only?
-Muppet
-Stooge
How about Industry Super Fund salesperson.
Seriously, the Minister for Industry Super Funds is a joke!
Product flogger