Less than 12 months ago, it was Bloch who called for the association’s members and the wider advice industry to ditch a commission remuneration model in favour of a fee-for-service only model by 2012.
The proposal itself wasn’t entirely controversial, with many advice professionals already operating on a fee-for-service basis.
What was contentious was the push by the FPA to decouple product from advice, initially putting more than a few product providers’ noses out of joint.
The remuneration policy, which looks to be Bloch’s departing legacy, was heralded as a promising step for an association that many had felt had begun to lose touch with its members.
It was thought by many as the step the industry needed to begin the clean up of the advice industry.
At the time, the FPA and its members were faced with a barrage of abuse from external and internal factions, with the fallout of FPA principal dealer group Storm Financial continuing and commission concerns growing over possible FPA authorised representative links to troubled agribusiness firms Timbercorp and Great Southern.
Concerns over financial planning remuneration has since been swept into a wider industry debate with the parliamentary joint commission’s inquiry into Australia’s financial services sector calling for further consultation on commissions and the fee relationship between product and advice.
Yet despite the step forward, the fact Bloch is departing before the remuneration policy’s final deadline, or before the outcomes of the association’s investigations into Storm, agribusiness and the latest inquiries into fund manager Astarra Asset Management are known, members would be forgiven for feeling a little abandoned.
Bloch announced her resignation to the market yesterday after three-and-a-half years with the association. The search has begun for her replacement.
