‘Don’t ever give up’: Regulation in advice tipped to peak

In the latest episode of the ifa Show, founder and CEO of WOW Women’s Group, Tracey Sofra said she hopes that the perceived overregulation in advice in recent years has “hit the peak” and has called on Australian planners to stay strong and endure despite adviser numbers predicted to reach 13,000 by the end of 2023.

“Don't ever give up. If you are in advice, you've got to stay in advice. We need the good ones to stay. You can't leave now,” Ms Sofra said.

“… we need the good ones to model for the next ones coming up. I mean, who are they going to look to If we're not around? We have to be the role models for the future ones coming through the ranks.”

Ms Sofra added that experienced advisers who may opt out of the industry due to current education requirements will also be a loss for the sector.

“Always look at people who retire. If you think of people who retire, it takes a lifetime to build the bank of knowledge and then people retire and just take that away with them. What a waste.

“Wouldn't it be beautiful to have an institution or a place where you could have all these people go to and we could all go and learn from them. Can you imagine the wealth of knowledge of these people?”

The current education requirements have been criticised by a number of groups within the sector, including the FPA, AFA and The Advisers Association, with CEO Neil Macdonald saying the industry will experience a “mass exodus” by 2026 if changes are not made.

Listen to the full ifa Show with Ms Sofra here.

Neil Griffiths

Neil is the Deputy Editor of the wealth titles, including ifa and InvestorDaily.

Neil is also the host of the ifa show podcast.