A mere mention of the Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) reforms is enough to send a shiver down the spines of many advisers that were active during its introduction.
However, speaking on The ifa Show, Financial Services Council (FSC) chief executive Blake Briggs has argued that Financial Services Minister Daniel Mulino’s involvement in the process has the potential to positively influence his approach to current reform efforts.
“Dr Mulino is a great choice for the role, so he’s received broad industry welcome and support, including from the Financial Services Council,” Briggs said.
“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Daniel for quite a long time. I first met him when he was a staffer under Bill Shorten working on financial services and tax policy issues, and so his knowledge and experience of the industry is very deep.
“Now, don’t get me wrong, a lot of people in the advice community would remember that Shorten period as the period of FOFA and that might bring back a bit of PTSD and shock, but the reality is, I think Daniel, during that period, was one of the really sensible policy heads in that office and did a lot of good work with all the organisations that were involved in some of those debates.”
While Briggs is confident that the minister’s involvement in past reforms has provided him with a solid understanding of the “dynamics of the industry”, FOFA is also a perfect example of intention and outcome being misaligned.
“He probably has his own views about where some of those historical reforms were well intentioned but didn’t always achieve their goal,” he added.
“If you look at it through the lens of things like the advice reform, you’ll have a good understanding of what were they trying to achieve through things like FOFA versus where we actually ended up today.
“I think when you do that analysis, it puts a lot of emphasis on the need to continue the reform process. Headline view is Daniel is a great choice for the role, very well qualified on paper, good understanding of our industry, and my experience of him is he’s a very consultative and collaborative minister, so I think we’ll be a good relationship.”
Noting that the reaction from advisers on the ground has been less optimistic than that of industry associations, the CEO argued Mulino would work closely with all stakeholders to “get to the heart of an issue”.
“That’s really the right approach to take,” Briggs said.
“My advice to the advice community would be: don’t jump to conclusions. Let’s judge him on his merit, and we’ll see whether or not he’s willing to work constructively the same way we are.”
He also argued that, despite Mulino’s predecessor saying the Delivering Better Financial Advice reforms could be finalised in another six months, every government “needs time to get its feet under the desk”.
“They will always consult with you about what things should be prioritised, where were predecessors perhaps taking the wrong approach on some issues,” Briggs said.
“In particular for Mulino, there is a lot of announced but unenacted measures that he’s going to have to work through. So, if the industry gets ahead of itself and is saying, ‘Why haven’t you given us certainty yet? Or why haven’t you agreed that my priorities are also your priorities?’ We’ll actually end up getting them offside.
“The reality is we need to work through them, methodically, help them do their job well. That’s where we can provide a lot of support but also be constructive. If you’re too loud and shrill in some of these debates, you very quickly lose a potential ally. So, let’s take the mature approach, let’s take the high road approach, and I think we can get some important stuff done during the term of Parliament.”
To hear more from Blake Briggs, tune in here.
Great, another career politician- premiers office adviser, financial services adviser under shorten, Victorian parliamentary secretary, labor mp…. What could go wrong ? The industry funds have their man in power
Of course he’s happy….Financial Product Providers got out of having to write to clients. Win Win for Product Providers.
Let’s not forget two submissions proposed “opt out” placing the emphasis on the adviser to do the work, and 20 plus submissions supported “opt in”. requiring letters to be posted to clients from Advisers and or Clients.
Looking back FoFA is a great win Financial Advisers like me but not a great win for Australians.
ChatGPT’s take: “Blake Briggs’ comments can be seen as a strategic effort to stay onside with the new Financial Services Minister, Daniel Mulino. This is a classic industry lobby move: express early optimism, flatter the minister’s experience, and signal a willingness to engage constructively — all to maintain influence over the policy direction.
The Financial Services Council (FSC) represents major product manufacturers, platforms, and large licensees. Their success depends on maintaining access to decision-makers. Praising the minister early helps:
– Secure meetings and briefings.
– Avoid being shut out of the consultative process.
– Position the FSC as a ‘constructive stakeholder’ vs. combative critics like smaller adviser groups or disaffected independents.”
‘Mulino would work closely with all stakeholders to “get to the heart of an issue”
Except that there is only one stakeholder he really cares about, and it’s not consumers and advisers.
Great perspective. Very few advisers would argue that reforms weren’t necessary. And very few would argue that “reform” outcomes have been well wide of their intent, to the point of making consumers worse off on average.
The big challenge for Mulino will be dealing with bureaucrats who neither understand nor care for the concerns of average Australians. Hopefully the new govt will feel empowered to put a broom through ASIC and Treasury.
LIF was never “necessary”
And yes it was the Coalitions baby, but maintained by Jones
LIF happened long after FOFA and Shorten/Mulino. But yes, Jones did nothing to fix it.
Mulino needs to be made fully aware that QAR only addresses a small proportion of the problems that make professional financial advice too complex and expensive for most consumers. Implementing QAR is just a starting point. The fact Jones barely got out of the starting blocks after 3 years is a testament to his incompetence.
The smartest thing Jones ever did was retire from parliament when on a ministerial salary, because if he stayed on Mulino would still have got the job, and Jones would be on the backbench.
Remember all the nice things industry bodies said when Jones first got the job? How did that pan out? Mulino works for the same master as Jones, the union funds. Advisers and clients can expect nothing from him, and will get nothing, knowing all his efforts will be to appease his union fund mates.
Ok. I’ll judge him on his merit.
If this hot mess isn’t completely fixed in 100 days then he has failed.
Fair enough ?