We believe that wherever possible we should leverage opportunities to influence the development of public policy. As long-standing industry practitioners we see that we have an obligation to make government (or other public policy influencers) aware of how legislation can be enhanced to better meet the needs of clients.
Over the years, we have made a number of submissions (and made face to face representations) to Government to articulate and better represent the concerns of our clients. Too often, public policy is developed in a vacuum without due regard to possible consequences and inequities. We have lobbied to protect the rights and financial strategies of our clients.
As we have noted in previous submissions to this Committee, there is a lot to recommend in the current financial advisory system; a fact that is often overlooked by consumer groups and other policy influencers. As with every system, however, there are opportunities to further improve particular aspects in order to better serve the interests of the majority of consumers.
The other critical point about "change" in this industry is that it needs to be made via measured and infrequent interventions. When dealing with legislation and regulations impacting people's retirement savings it is imperative that it be undertaken in a manner that enhances (rather than undermines) people's confidence in the system.
It is our perception that the issues of financial advice and superannuation are becoming overly politicised, and knee-jerk decisions are being made at all levels in the industry without proper regard to consequences and without a clear line of sight on the best interests of the client.
With regard to the Committee's current terms of reference, there is a lack of clarity about exactly what problem "is being solved for". Some have suggested that higher educational standards will reduce the occurrence of fraudulent behaviour amongst planners (a link we would argue is contentious), so we assume that a nexus is being drawn between adviser education and the quality of advice. Again, however, we remain to be convinced about the strength of the correlation between these two things.
Our views, based on over fifty years of combined experience in the financial services industry, are summarised Read more ...
There is a lot to recommend in the current financial advisory system; a fact that is often overlooked by consumer groups and other policy influencers. As with every system, however, there are opportunities to further improve particular aspects in order to better serve the interests of the majority of consumers. Read more ...
It has been our experience, based on client feedback, that the Simpler Superannuation changes made under the previous government have been regarded as overwhelmingly positive. There were a number of fundamental changes introduced at the time and client strategies have been re-shaped in light of these changes. Read more ...
The attached submission addresses a number of key issues arising from the proposals for the simplification and streamlining of the current superannuation system, announced by the Treasurer on Budget night.
The proposals have much to commend, but importantly, there are also a number of anomalies that need to be addressed. Read more ...