The Senate's passing of the government's Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) reforms has been met with a positive response from industry participants.
Yesterday's passage of FOFA through the upper house was a positive step for the industry, FPA general manager of policy and government relations Dante De Gori told InvestorDaily.
"[Now] we can start moving forward and our members can start moving forward to actually implement and get ready for complying with FOFA by 1 July 2013," De Gori said.
However, he said although the formal process of passing the legislation was over, more work needed to be done on regulations and ASIC guidelines in respect to the practical application.
"That practical side is still an issue and we're working closely with the government, Treasury and ASIC on that," he said.
The FPA was pleased the government had also reconfirmed its commitment to enshrining the term 'financial planner' in the Corporations Act and was now accelerating the process, he said.
The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) said the reforms would end the practice of conflicted remuneration and included a statutory duty for advisers to act in the customer's best interest.
"This will raise the standard of financial advice delivered," ASFA chief executive Pauline Vamos said.
"It is a huge step forward in the professionalisation of the financial planning and advice industry."
She said as the superannuation system matured and the population aged, greater numbers of people would look for advice on how to make their money last, how to manage the risk of living a long time and how to manage their finances in general.
Industry superannuation fund AustralianSuper also welcomed the passing of the legislation as a step towards improving retirement.
"These reforms for the provision of financial advice are long overdue and we believe they will start to restore consumer confidence in the industry, as people will know that any advice they receive is legally required to be in their own best interest, not anyone else's," AustralianSuper chief executive Ian Silk said.
In addition, Silk embraced other FOFA features, including the banning of commissions on investment products and the opt-in provisions.
Industry Super Network chief executive David Whiteley said the FOFA package was in the national interest and would deliver demonstrable outcomes for future generations.
Whiteley said FOFA formed a strong foundation from which the financial advice industry could grow and realise its ambition to be recognised as a profession.
My Adviser managing director Philippa Sheehan said although there were some elements of FOFA she wanted to see developed further, the discussions could now stop and the real work could begin.
"This is a starting point and as an industry we can now get our heads around moving the industry and its transparency forward. That is a positive thing for the adviser, the client, the licensee and the product provider," Sheehan said.
She said it would only be a matter of time before the finer details were released, but the main priority was to pass the FOFA reforms.
"In a time when our industry is really doing it tough, the fact that FOFA's next layer has been passed is a positive thing," she said.
Australian Unity Personal Financial Advice Services head of financial advice Craig Meldrum said the company agreed with the delayed implementation date of 1 July 2013 to give the industry time to adapt.
"We would like to see more detail around the regulator's approach to compliance in terms of best interest and the other provisions for the coming year," Meldrum said.
