Addressing the SMSF Association National Conference 2020 in the Gold Coast on Thursday, opposition financial services spokesman Stephen Jones said the forms had been a “rollercoaster ride” for the industry and poorly implemented, leaving Australians with less access to advice when they needed it most.
“More than 4,000 advisers have left the sector since the end of 2018, when FASEA’s standards were finally published – mere days before they were due to come into effect,” Mr Jones said.
“More will leave in the years to come. The net consequence of this is that at the very time when access to professional, quality advice is most needed, it is becoming harder to get.”
Mr Jones said Labor wanted to engage with the industry and regulators on how it could address the worsening advice gap.
“We want to see all Australians able to access high-quality financial advice – about their retirements, about their investment needs, about their insurance,” he said.
“Impartial and affordable retirement income advice should be available to all Australians – including low and middle income earners with modest retirement savings.”
However, Mr Jones confirmed it was Labor’s view that there was no place for any form of commissions in the industry, saying advice had to be “decoupled from the sales process”.
He also said the advice sector had a role to play in tandem with the government on educating Australians around financial literacy.
“I am keen to hear your views as to how we can build a better future for your industry. And I am keen to work with you over the next few years to shape that future,” Mr Jones said.
As an industry, let’s start calling out people like this Stephen Jones, both for their blatant conflict of interest (industry funds basically keeping the union movement and the ALP alive) and their anti-competitive agenda (the industry funds looking at wiping out competition from the retail funds and the SMSFs).
Give Australians a tax deduction for advice like they do for a tax return – that would be a good start.
At this rate, they will start publishing our fee for service life most restaurants.
1. Calling client back $ 3.50 per minute
2. Responding to a client email $ 4.50
3. Sending a 3rd party authority to your super fund $ 8.50
4. Researching your current super $10.50
Soon you will have clients rocking up like your favourite Thai restaurant and ordering ” I will have number 25 and number 4, can you please add extra compliance and independence with it. She also wants a glass of regulation and more bok choi”
Look out here comes Labour with the final nail in the coffin for advice practices so they can hand it all to Union super funds.
I hate to call it, but commission on life insurance will be stopped in the near future. They will reduce commissions to zero. It now about fee for service.
Another snout in the trough, he will say anything for a headline. Lucky no-one reads IFA, so he won’t get any traction
commissions for what? life insurance? or financial advice products?
is this April 1st?
Is this the same Federal Opposition that swore black and blue to implement EVERY recommendation of the Royal Commission? Mr Jones, your party has decimated the industry sufficiently enough to never receive the industry’s support again.
I wonder how long jones has been around. Early 2000s, McLucas had a swag of advisers in her office on the pretext of hearing our views- result- the beginning of fofa and our demise. not a single point was listened to during the meetings as the result shows. Again, this appears to be nothing more than a charade to fool advisers that labor is our mate. Fact is no single politician is our mate, especially labor.
Im of the view that politicfians should NOT be in receipt of any salary or allowances but only be paid on actual performance and completion of political promises and policy. A fee for service. What a small minded comment Mr. Jones.
I am quite happy with advice costing a significant amount. I have adapted very nicely to the new highly regulated, high fee environment. The government (both sides) has made it’s bed and now it needs to lie in it. Good luck to you. Blind Freddy could have seen this coming years ago. If you want Australian’s who truly can’t afford to advice to have access to it, then put your hands in your pocket and fund the equivalent of legal aid.
omg, what a joke… I’m sick of these people trying to tell us how to operate in our own industry. If you don’t understand it implicitly you should not be able to have an opinion on the matter. FULL STOP.
These are just children running around trying to act like they know what’s going on.
First they destroy the industry and then they want to fix it. And these people think they deserve a lifetime pension off the public purse.
Please be realistic about the actual cost of providing financial advice and what is considered high quality “affordable advice”. This last year has seen a ridiculous increase in the cost of PI insurance, compliance costs, education costs, ASIC costs and licensee fees. As a fee-for-service adviser, I have had to increase my fees by 35%, just to keep up with the increasing costs.
I wish these rookie politicians would properly clarify when they talk of commission banning that “with the exception of Life Insurance which has been as de-conflicted as it possibly can without jeopardising the essential cross-subsidy model that consumers rely upon and benefit from”.
All that is code for as long as you use union funds and charge nothing for your advice all will be good with labor
Absolute crocodile tears. Labor’s sole agenda in financial services is diverting more money into union super funds. They do not care in the slightest about consumers’ access to financial advice, unless that advice comes from a conflicted union super aligned source.
Open slather for industry funds and no insurance commissions. Um, no thanks.
better get rid of intra fund fee’s then
Here’s some advice Mr Jones:
Step 1 – The complete abolition of commissions for life insurance will decimate the industry. But if you are determined to do it – drop Statements of Advice and Records of Advice. They were created at a time when disclosure was seen as the answer. But with the abolition of commissions (the no. 1 source of conflicts of interest) they are no longer needed. Allow us to act like medicos, lawyers and accountants and the price will come down – significantly.
Step 2 – Include financial advice in the Sole Purpose Test and mandate that all super funds must allow a client to pay a fee to their adviser of choice. Let’s face it – financial advice is almost entirely about building and protecting a client’s assets so they can retire comfortably, so it is a natural fit.
Step 3 – The FASEA board must have a majority of practicing financial planners. It’s the only way forward as the current board have failed to put forward workable and sensible solutions, and there is clearly a level of ignorance and indifference toward our profession which is not delivering the outcomes intended.
Do those things Mr Jones, and you might win support from the profession and create a positive outcome for consumers.
Surely life insurance commission continues as the industry is struggling and the burden on Centrelink for the government.
If he is talking about insurance commissions, then he has no understanding of the process, the industry or the under insurance problem in this country.