FPA chief executive Jo-Anne Bloch told the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) conference in Melbourne yesterday the financial services industry needed to band together to find a way to deliver mass-market, regulated and affordable advice for all Australians.
"The real challenge for all is to work out how to deliver regulated, good advice that Australians are not confused by. Advice cannot be delivered by a call centre," Bloch said.
According to Bloch, one of the main challenges is to define the term financial planner in law.
"We would like to see the attached fiduciary obligations, higher education and competency standards along with the compulsory professional obligations," she said.
"It's confusing that financial planning doesn't have a fiduciary responsibility, but the realisation is starting to sink in."
Bloch also said the current licensing requirements were not strict enough.
"We need to do something as the filter is not strong enough ... too many people are falling through the cracks," Bloch said.
She said companies like Great Southern were able to set themselves up as a licensee and sell products under the guise of advice.
"Financial planners want to be a clearly defined source of information and the situations with Great Southern and Timbercorp have made that very clear," she said.
