From the Herald Sun:
AUSTRALIA’S peak financial planning body has criticised aspects of proposed changes to financial advice laws, warning they could increase risks for consumers.
The Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA) says winding back a ban on so-called “conflicted remuneration” – commissions paid to sales staff who put people into particular investment products – for general financial advice would have negative outcomes for consumers.
The federal government wants to exempt general advice from a ban on conflicted remuneration as part of a raft of proposed amendments to the former Labor government’s Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) laws.
In a submission on the amendments, the FPA said it is “concerned with the reintroduction of commissions for general advice, which will negatively influence outcomes for retail investors, as well as the perception of financial advice in Australia”.
“The uniform position of Australian and international financial regulatory bodies is that general advice models place consumers at greater risk of making misinformed financial decisions, especially when compared with the outcomes from independent and objective personal advice,” the FPA said.
Mr Sinodinos has reputation for a fine political ear. I suggest he use it.
