Distrustful advisers want to be treated as professionals by ASIC
Financial advisers just want the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) to treat them like the other professions by adopting a common-sense, risk-based approach.
A survey of financial advisers conducted by Financial Newswire has confirmed that many financial advisers deeply distrust the regulator and, because of this, do not regard it as doing a good job.
However, not all advisers believe the financial advice profession would necessarily be good at self-regulation.
Asked whether they believed ASIC was doing a good job, well over 90% of respondents answered “no”, while 100% of respondents urged the Government to drop the current industry funding model for the regulator.
Importantly, 60% of respondents said they believed that ASIC should be fully funded by taxpayers, while the remainder said they believed a new funding model should be developed which more fairly spread the cost across the financial services industry.
More than 90% of advisers also said that they believed ASIC was too adversarial in its dealing with them.
On the question of self-regulation, 70% of respondents said they believed the financial planning profession was capable more self-regulation.
Among the comments given by respondents was that ASIC should look at the treatment of other professions.
“No other profession can be punished as if they are a ‘professional’ yet have it suggested by the regulator they are not a member of a profession,” one respondent said. “No other profession is governed with a predisposition of bias.”
Another respondent said that ASIC should work with planners to develop better processes and advice for clients, “rather than using intimidation and penalties against advisers”.
“ASIC staff need better first-hand understanding of the challenges facing financial planners,” another respondent said. “Similarly, ASIC could provide more guidance and ‘nudging’ rather than focus on an ‘enforcement first’ approach.”
The same respondent suggested that, on the flip side, planners needed to understand ASIC’s wide remit of laws to implement, its shrinking resources and difficulty in retaining experienced staff.
“Planners also need to understand that some business practices and conflicts are no longer acceptable, and must be flexible to a changing environment,
the respondent said. “So, if planners better self-regulate and are more effective in removing bad apples and maintain acceptable standards there’d be less for ASIC to have to regulate.”
ASIC is currently facing scrutiny from two Parliamentary Committees which have called for submissions on the performance of the regulator.
ASIC’s Ms Press needs to go. Her prescribed detail & mass BS costly red tape & over regulation, along with a blame Advisers for everything attitude is well over done.
Time to go Ms Press !!!!
ASIC are a kangaroo court implementing farcical legislation, constructed by policy makers devoid of practical industry intellect. And we are expected to trust them…
I am watching an industry we love die a slow and unnecessary death!
Well, If they took on the tough cases, but it is easy to prosecute a one-man business for an admin error, then a failed fund manager or major corporation with a retained legal team and deep pockets!
And to top it off it is the adviser who pay for the sins of the fund manager, as the complaint is made at the adviser’s choose of fund, not the miss management of the fund manager. As AFCA does not look to weigh up the case and just wants the client to be paid.
It is what I call the “Heads on Pikes” theory. In Medieval times the king’s justice needed to be seen to be done, so the enforcers of the law would round up the easy prosecutions. the petty thief or the innocent then execute them and the stick their “heads on Pikes” to show that the law is enforced.
To be clear I am not saying all Adviser are innocent or all Fund Managers and Corporations are guilty, but when the regulatory is underfunded and the law are designed to ensure that individuals within Corporation are protected.
where is the legally enforceable code of ethics for Fund Managers and executives,
You Wonder why advisers who have been the whipping boys of the Financial Services industry for over 15 years are distrustful of ASIC.
We can’t fight the education standards AND be called a profession. Choose one hill to die on