Removal of Safe Harbour steps will empower advisers: AMP

The removal of the Safe Harbour steps in favour of a principle-based approach to the Best Interest Duty will empower financial advisers, open new channels for the delivery of financial advice and make advice more accessible, according to AMP’s chief executive, Alexis George.

AMP welcomed the Government’s roadmap for financial advice reform, which was announced last week, and which will introduce a new class of financial advisers who will be employees of licensed financial institutions, including banks, superannuation funds as well as life and general insurers.

The Safe Harbour steps were designed to help financial advisers demonstrate, by carrying out certain steps, that they have met the Best Interest Duty when advising their clients.

George also said in a statement that the new tier of advice “must sit cohesively within the broader advice ecosystem”, which includes full scale face-to-face advice, new digital solutions and other “more basic educational services already provided by super funds”.

“This will ensure there is a clear, scaled advice pathway for consumers as their needs evolve,” she said.

The chief executive of AMP also welcomed a further recognition for the role the superannuation funds play in supporting Australians in retirement, and those approaching the retirement decisions, by ensuring their fund members get access to a “broad continuum of advice”.

AMP’s CEO expects that the reforms will see a greater uptake of digital advice solutions, an area in which her company is investing in.

“We intend to work proactively with Government to ensure the implementation of these reforms is practical and workable, including the use of appropriate terminology to enshrine the term “financial adviser” as sufficiently different from the terminology of the proposed new-tier of advice provider,” George stressed.

AMP is predicted to regain its top spot as the largest advice financial planning group in Australia by a number of advisers following the Insignia’s exit from Millennium 3 license, according to the analysis from WealthData.