From the AFR:
Federal cabinet is expected to consider, as early as Monday, measures to wind back Labor reforms to the financial planning industry, despite apparent concerns by Treasury and Finance about some of the measures.
…The FoFA reforms sought to stamp out prevalent arrangements where financial advice was compromised by commission payments to advisers from the marketers of financial products.
Assistant Treasurer Senator Arthur Sinodinos told a Financial Services Council breakfast in Sydney last week that the underlying concern for the government was the cost of advice and the manner in which FoFA, as currently structured, carried with it the danger of advice being made too expensive.
While the Coalition argues Labor’s FoFA reforms involve excessive red tape, there are some concerns within the finance sector that rolling back the legislation will once again expose financial consumers to high charges and weaken restrictions on advisers.
Sources say both Treasury and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission have expressed concern about Coalition plans to change what are known as “best interest” provisions which set out that a financial adviser must act in their clients’ best interests.
The independently minded investors of MB probably aren’t affected. But do we want appropriately charged and independent financial advice for mums and dads or cheaper sales vending machines for the big end of town?
