Speaking at the AIA Adviser Summit, Stuart Robert, the shadow assistant treasurer and shadow minister for financial services, took issue with the Financial Services Minister’s delay in addressing the QAR’s findings. Mr Robert pointed out that despite receiving the final report in mid-December 2022, Mr Jones has only announced a “review of the review” thus far.
During his address, Mr Robert made it clear that he believes Jones’ actions are inadequate. He slammed Jones for failing to take action on the QAR’s recommendations in a timely manner and suggested that the delay could have serious consequences for the financial services industry.
Moreover, Mr Robert encouraged the government to implement the QAR final report in full and said the opposition would vote in favour of legislating all the recommendations to boost access to advice.
“The government is indicating that it’s possibly looking for quick wins, that’s a pretty standard word that government ministers use to cherry-pick, but if you cherry-pick, you don’t get the power of the whole, you get the minutiae of the minimum,” Mr Robert said.
Assessing that the profession is now at a point where it is “well and truly” able to stand alongside other professions, he argued that the government should not only implement the full QAR report but also overhaul the education standards and allow the industry to “self-regulate”.
“The profession should be allowed to manage its own educational standards without recourse to government. That would be particularly helpful.”
The challenge however, he said, is that the government is being “held hostage” by “numerous consumer advocacy groups”.
“[These groups] believe all advisers are somehow in it for themselves, which couldn’t be further from the truth,” Mr Robert said.
He also shared that the opposition would support the new Financial Advice Association, which is the group formed after the merger of the Financial Planning Association and the Association of Financial Advisers, to act as a quasi-regulator and oversee education standards, including disciplining members for poor ethics.
Mr Robert suggested that this approach would bring financial advice regulation in line with the legal profession, where state-based law societies regulate professionals in their jurisdiction.
Despite having committed to attending earlier, Mr Jones did not attend the AIA Adviser Summit.
I trust Stuart Robert’s advisers & staff are looking at this website to gauge what impact he is having!!
Well, he is having an impact alright if you care to read through the responses to this matter.
I doubt very much that you will be able to advise him on the strategic model going forward.
I suggest they advise him to simply shut up & keep his head down…anything else will be of significant political damage.
……..that’s if they can possibly do any more damage in this space!!
Jones’ delay in addressing QAR is nothing compared to his interminable delay in addressing adviser education standards. Jones has become the “minister for doing nothing”. He will be one of the first ministers shunted to the backbench when there is a reshuffle.
They never intended to implement the 10 year rule, just sounded good at the time
Of course Stewie and the LNP want it implemented in Full.
LNP, Frydenberg & Hume employed a Financial Product Lawyer to find every way possible for Financial Product Providers to FLOG MORE PRODUCT, without the need to be an Advisers, no qualifications, no education, no compliance and no regulation.
I suspect Stuart Robert would have been a much better financial services minister, based on my personal dealings with him in the past. However no-one will listen to him unless he personally attends a financial planning conference, publicly apologises for the red-tape nightmare inflicted on us by his political party and get’s down on his knees and begs for mercy. Failing that, a large portion of financial planners (and many in their sphere of influence) will be lost to the LNP forever if Jones pulls his finger out and get’s Labor’s response to the QAR right.
I agree. But Jones’ continuous deferral and procrastination on education standards and QAR is an increasing cause for concern, and no doubt a ray of hope for Stuart Robert and his colleagues.
A bit rich coming from the opposition treasurer who’s party when in government helped decimate the financial planning industry evolving into a profession…
If only they had acted upon what the coal face was telling them infinitum instead of interfering by acting upon information from the wrong people! Another reason why Stuart and his colleagues find themselves in opposition for many years now! And what is Frydenberg up to now by the way?
Hume is still hanging around and whilst she has any input into our industry I won’t be voting for the LNP
Goldman Sachs exec role – unsurprising!!
Finically, someone with both influence and a backbone standing up!
Actually everyone is in it for themselves. The best Liberal Prime Minister we never had, Paul Keating, coined the phase, “In a two horse race always back self-interest because at least you know it’s trying”.
Jones will only make decisions that will not have any adverse impact on his political future – conflict of interest??
How is this guy still in the shadow cabinet after last week’s performance at the Robo-Debt Royal Commission?
He’s done worse, he is probably correct this time however
This is sickening coming from Robert.
The Liberals all but oversaw the complete destruction of the Financial Services and Insurance Advice business under their watch.
They cared for nothing and did nothing to stem the fallout driven by political mismanagement and a complete lack of care & respect for anyone associated with Financial Services.
The closure of small businesses, loss of staff and the overwhelming mental fatigue delivered under the Liberals watch for a decade was an utter disgrace.
For Robert to put his his head up above the wall now & to criticise the other side is clear evidence of how these people really think & where they see themselves in the world.
And for the record,I’m 58 years of age and I have voted Liberal for 40 of those years!
They abandoned Advisers when they were calling for help, assistance and understanding and now think it’s ok to get stuck into Labor for taking some time.
Sure, Labor need to act quickly and professionally immediately, but Robert and the Liberals don’t deserve a voice of any description in relation to this issue.
The Liberals decimated the financial services industry. No Liberal politician should be listened to.
Isn’t that the truth that advisers are professional , I have spent so much time explaining and understanding clients traits biases , their goals and exploring what they are really meaning.
However they only become somewhat interested as they only want a result ( generally speaking as all time poor ).
I do this and I take so much time trying to explain , educated and drill down for information that sometimes I wonder?
meanwhile we all have learnt and working in clients ultimate best interest .
keep me posted .
regards
Frank
Ha! Have a listen to Stewie “the $1k per month internet user” Robert. Whilst I agree with his commentary “review the review”, it was the Liberal Party who wrought such devastating damage to the industry with their ill conceived legislation in the first place. It’s a bit rich to call out the Labor Party now…but pollies being pollies, finger pointing & putting off making any meaningful decisions (sorry, I mean sending stuff for review) is de rigueur.
Meanwhile, us poor schmucks have to deal with the nonsense they have served up…particularly the ridiculously time consuming & energy sapping FDSs, which serve no purpose.
We are starting to feel like hapless water buffalo, stuck in the mud, with nowhere to go, waiting to get shot. The problem is that none of these knuckleheads is a good enough shot to put us out of our misery.
A pox on both parties!
Addressing the experience pathway regarding education standards should be one of the main priorities. There would be hundreds of advisers holding off on commencing relevant studies, dependant on this ruling. Meanwhile the 2026 deadline is fast approaching!
I still can’t believe advisers are holding out on the experience pathway. Yet no doubt they believe and want to be known as a “Professional”. Do they not understand that part of the criteria for being a “Professional” is not only experience but a standard level of education. This was set by Fasea sometime ago. For most advisers it is between 2-6 units and you have until 2026 to do it!!
Look at the mishmash of quickie courses, tick the box courses etc that served to muddle as to what a qualification really was and should be. Look at the CFP and the grandfathering versus those that completed in present times. All over the place. No wonder a line in the sand was drawn for the education standards..
I completed the Master of Financial Planning by mid 2021 having only received a couple of credits. Oh and I am over 60 and over 35 year experienced. It is not that hard.
Just do it and maybe one day there will be a professional body for only Fasea qualified Professionals.
Meaning held hostage by Industry Superfunds and Choice?
Strong opening to the AIA Adviser Summit
Libs have done more damage to financial services industry that Minister Jones is now trying to deal with maturely and appropriately. Minister Jones applying resources to a review of the QAR is a matter of probity and integrity. I see the Libs didn’t adopt the Hayne Royal Commission findings ‘in full’, hypocrisy is an art from with the Libs. At any rate Commissioner Hayne wouldn’t even shake the hand of Treasurer Frydenberg at the time. Go look in the mirror Mr Robert and stop stirring the possum.
Implementing the review as it stands will lead to the next Royal Commission
Hilarious bureaucrats slamming each other, neither cares about advice industry. Perhaps industry funds have flung him an envelope to rattle the cage.
You have to laugh at the political narrative, here we go again. Whilst I’m not a fan of any political party, it’s a bit late and a bit rich MP Stuart Robert to be criticising MP Jones. Where was your voice when the Libs were in power? What did the Libs do to Financial Services legislation?
The guy who’s party created the mess isn’t happy?