Financial advisers are feeling compelled to engage with their industry and be involved in its direction, as the official 1 July 2013 start date for the Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) regulatory reforms looms closer.
"Advisers want to have a say and want to be heard," Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) chief executive Richard Klipin told InvestorDaily.
"Even if they can't change the future, their ability to actually have a voice in [legislative and industry change] is really important to them."
Behaviour-wise, the AFA was experiencing more interaction from its members, Klipin said.
"The overwhelming emotional perspective of most in the marketplace, including the broader industry, is that the consequences of FOFA are playing out.
"Businesses, roles and products have been restructured, which has given rise to a whole range of uncertainty. This is not a time of plenty - it's a time of hard work and perspiration."
Advisers who had already future-proofed their businesses could already foresee a positive post-FOFA outcome, although some were not far enough in the change process to "see the forest for the trees", he said.
He said being part of a strong advice community was key to ensuring advisers got to the end of their restructuring process and made certain that their businesses and client relationships were going to be a lot stronger.
"Like all tough times, the future will bring good [opportunities]; it's just a question of when," he said.
In light of the growth of advisers' participation within their industry, the FPA will launch its inaugural Professionals Congress next year, a revamp of its annual National Conference, with the decision of the agenda and format to be determined by its members.
"We have a range of practitioner committees comprised of FPA members and in the coming weeks we're putting together working groups to get together to ask what they want the program and format to be and how they'd like the sessions to be set up," FPA chief marketing officer Lindy Jones said.
"Rather than let the FPA or our sponsors drive the agenda, we're very much going to make sure that this is entirely practitioner-led so that it meets their needs completely. The members are going to tell us what they're after."
The thinking behind the Professionals Congress was to ensure it was meeting its members' needs through improved initiatives and activities, as the industry continued to evolve and change, Jones said.
The peak industry association hopes to address the issue of how 'good advice' is defined, in relation to meeting the basic regulatory requirements and how advisers put the obligation into practice.
"[Our annual national conferences] have been highly valued by members, but we're also aware that we need to constantly improve, bring more value and provide new avenues for development for our members," FPA chief executive Mark Rantall said.
"The new format is designed to really hone in on both timely issues and the enduring topics affecting our profession."
He said the congress would articulate and "bring to life the essence of what it means to be a professional financial planner".
The FPA Professionals Congress will be held in Sydney on 17-18 October 2013.
CoreData head of advice, wealth and super Kristen Turnbull said based on the ongoing feedback the market research firm received, many advisers were feeling frustrated the regulatory change was overwhelming their time and energy, as it took the focus away from their end clients.
"Those that are already offering their services on a fee-for-service basis, or have the support of a large institutional dealer group, are feeling less pressured by the changes than those who have not yet made this transition, or are dealing with all the regulatory change and compliance elements on their own," Turnbull said.
