The Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) has called for an end to the persecution of financial advisers following comments from a Labor Party senator that a change in the size of SMSFs would only benefit “financial advisers giving shonky advice”.
The AFA made the call “for an end to the persecution of the financial advice sector” after Labor Party Senator Jenny McAllister said in parliament during a debate on a bill for increasing the size of the membership of an SMSF from four to six that the “people who will benefit most from these arrangements are financial advisers giving shonky advice – the kind of advice we’ve seen again and again and again, the kind of advice exposed in the Hayne royal commission”.
Responding to the comments, AFA acting chief executive Phil Anderson said: “The persistent, ongoing vilification of financial advisers, that we have seen year after year in the federal parliament and in the media, is totally unjust and unreasonable. It borders on abuse and must stop.
“The vast majority of financial advisers always work in the best interests of their clients. The entire profession should not be judged based on what a very small minority have done in the past. Other professions are not judged because of what their worst do.”
Anderson was supported in his view by Superannuation, Financial Services and the Digital Economy Minister Jane Hume, who responded to McAllister in the Senate, stating: “It’s rather unfortunate and, indeed, disingenuous of the opposition to disparage the good work that financial advisers do and the contribution that they make to the financial well-being of thousands and thousands of Australians.”
Anderson added that any link to the misconduct of advisers revealed during the financial services royal commission was not representative of the wider adviser population, but only consistent with a review of poor behaviour of some of those in the sector.
“The Hayne royal commission hearings looked at the conduct of 10 individual financial advisers. This is a tiny fraction of the adviser population,” he said.
“Importantly, the royal commission had access to information on misconduct from numerous different organisations over a 10-year period.
“It is hardly surprising that they revealed cases of serious misconduct during the hearings, however, it is totally unreasonable and unfair to suggest in any way that this was widespread.
“It is important to note that complaints about financial advice make up only 1.4 per cent of complaints received by the Australian Financial Complaints Authority.”
He noted financial advice was the most heavily regulated sector and any claims consumers were inadequately protected were false and continued to add to the stress placed on advisers.
“For too long they [financial advisers] have been forced to feel uncomfortable talking publicly about what they do. This is not right. No professional should be made to feel this way and particularly not by elected members of their own parliament,” he said.
