Lawyer and ethicist Dr June Smith will oversee the independent body, which is charged with regulating the behaviour of FPA members and upholding compliance with the FPA Code of Conduct.
FPA CEO Mark Rantall said professional standards were of crucial importance to financial services.
“Dr Smith’s appointment as CRC chair comes at a significant time in the financial planning industry, when it is of utmost importance to ensure that we live up to the expectations of our profession,” he said.
“Having an independent governance framework is integral to ensuring that financial planners do the right thing and act in their clients’ best interest, providing high quality advice to their clients.”
Dr Smith said the CRC will play a key role in upholding ethical standards for financial planners.
“I feel privileged to be able to lead the Commission in this next phase, to position it as an expert and independent voice that shares insight and experience about what it means to be a member of the FPA and the conduct that is expected of its members,” she said.
In addition to her new position, Dr Smith currently serves as the CEO of the Code Compliance Monitoring Committee supported by the Financial Ombudsman Service.
A former principal at Argyle Lawyers, Dr Smith also holds a PhD in applied ethics and organisational decision-making.
She replaces Professor Kingsford Smith, who has chaired the CRC since 2007.
We’ve all been such naughty boys and girls that we need four headmasters to hand out punishment: Dealer group compliance, ASIC, FPA…and FOS of course. Yet nobody has come up with any ideas on structural change, it’s all “look what we’re doing”. Forget giving efficient and affordable advice in the client’s best interest…it’s all now about control and self preservation.
I read the headline and thought to myself “I wonder if it’s an electric chair?”