Speaking before the Senate Economics References Committee in Sydney yesterday, Mr Medcraft said part of the problem with the advice sector is that “you’re not going to regulate a change in culture”.
“We still regard the financial advice sector as one of the riskier that we regulate,” he added.
“A large part of that sector does a great job, but at the end of the day we need a financial advice sector that Australians can trust,” he said.
Speaking personally, Mr Medcraft said he would like to be able to see a financial adviser that he didn’t have any concerns about.
“What we need is for the financial advice sector to win that confidence and trust from the Australian public,” he said.
“It really worries me, the financial advice sector. And I really appeal to them – many of them have really got to grab that challenge and win that confidence.
“All we’ve seen over the last few years certainly doesn’t contribute to that environment of trust and confidence,” he said.
Questioned about the Coalition’s proposed “rollback” of the FOFA reforms by Labor senator Sam Dastyari, Mr Medcraft pointed out that it was a matter of government policy and declined to comment.
But the ASIC chairman did argue that the principles of FOFA have been preserved with the “removal of conflict remuneration from tier one financial advice and the [implementation of the] best interests duty”.
“Our job is to do the best with what we have – and that’s what we try to do,” said Mr Medcraft.
