Financial Planning Association of Australia

The Financial Planning Association of Australia is according to its website "the largest professional community of financial planners".[1] It has over 14,000 members and affiliates, with 11,400 of them practising financial planners and 5,700 being certified financial planner( CFP) professionals.[2] The FPA as it is most commonly referred to as, offers five different individual levels of membership which include the Certified Financial Planner Professional, Financial Planner AFP, Associate, Allied Professional and student. FPA also has two partnership programs, FPA Professional Practice Program and FPA Professional Partner Program.[3] The educational activities they offer include the Certified Financial Planner Certification Program and the Continuing Professional Development.[4] They hold an annual professionals congress which is attended by both members and non-members.[5] The FPA has 31 Chapters throughout Australia which offer an events program.[6] FUTURE2 FOUNDATION, PRO BONO service and 10 THOUSAND GIRL are their charitable and not-for-profit social enterprises.[7] Under their consumer recognition side they host advertising campaigns to raise awareness amongst consumers and they also have an awards program.[7]

An article by Sydney Morning Herald mentioned that the association is one of two key financial planning bodies in Australia.[8]

Financial Planning Association of Australia
FoundationFUTURE2FOUNDATION
Related indicesFINANCIAL PLANNING, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER CFP

Royal Commission

During the Royal Commission into the misconduct by Banking, superannuation and insurance industry. The FPA was investigated with regards to providing improper financial assistance and also bad conduct by some of its financial advisers.[9] The FPA reacted by considering the royal commission, possibly disrupting the financial advice reform.[10] ABC News published an article concerning both the banking royal commission and the FPA, the article is concerning the “unhappy experience” a Fair Work commissioner had with a financial planner.[11] According to the complainant the FPA complaints process was “difficult with lack of communication and information”, the complaint alleges that if she had followed a well-known financial adviser's advice, she would have lost $500,000 in superannuation.[11] Her other concern was that the complaint has not been resolved by the FPA even though it was raised than a year ago.[11]

An article written April 2018 by the Sydney Morning Herald, discussed an incident where the Financial Planning Association strongly recommended that the identity of one of its well known financial planners be kept unknown from the public, which according to the newspaper was “partly an attempt to protect his reputation”.[8] The celebrity planner was investigated for possible wrongdoings during the royal commission into banking misconduct after a complaint was raised, it was alleged that the well-known planner had given instruction to his employees “to impersonate a client and misrepresent his tertiary qualifications.”[8]

A Sydney Morning Herald reported that during the commission Ms Orr, the senior counsel assisting asked the Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Planning Association of Australia about the associations’ willingness to protect the identities of advisers that are facing sanctions.[8]

A news release by the FPA, the opinion that the association has on the Royal Commission, it said "The Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA) has highlighted that millions of tax payers' dollars could be wasted should the Royal Commission into financial services include advice."[10]

In an article published by Money and Life, it was reported that “The FPA supports the phasing out of grandfathered commissions, provided the following five principles are met:

1.      The change is in the clients’ best interest and no client will be worse off;

2.      Commission payments are refunded to clients and not retained by the product provider;

3.      Tax relief is provided for any adverse tax consequences;

4.      Centrelink benefits are protected from any adverse consequences; and

5.      Exit fees be banned in line with the Government's 2018/19 Budget proposal on both super and investment products”.[12]

In the same article the Chief Executive officer of the FPA, Dante De Gori, mentioned that the FPA's stance is that after a three-year transition period the grandfathering of commissions should be subject to the FoFA (Future of Financial Advice) provisions.[12]

Competitors

The Financial Services Union also simply known as the FSU, has according to an article by Professional Planner seen an increase “in engagement from advisers and brokers disaffected with their industry association representation during and after the Hayne royal commission” said by the FSU national secretary at the time Julia Angrisano.[13] The FPA's competitors include the FSU and the Association of Financial Advisers, they compete with respect to “membership and attendant fees of planners”.[13] The article then mentioned that the FSU has 30,000 members compared to the 4,300 members of the AFA and the estimated 14,000 members of the FPA.[13]

2017 White Paper

The FPA published a report titled “Mapping Fintech to the Financial Planning Process Why fintech is not a threat” in November 2017.[14] “The Fintech White Paper” as it is commonly referred to as was introduced at the FPA Annual Professionals Congress 2017.[14] The white paper as discussed by FinancialMappers explored the challenges and opportunities that fintech products offer to the financial planning industry, mentioning the common occurrence of fintech products in the industry currently.[14]

Fintech

An article published by Money Management in March 2019 discussed the FPA's launch of fintech products, according to the website, they were developed by YTML who are advice technology producers; Fintech, as described by Money Management, is "the diagnostic tool (that) would quantify the actual costs and time involved in providing advice services and provide a basis for calculating how to price offerings accordingly".[15]

The FPA's chief executive informed the publication that fintech would assist financial planners with estimations regarding the possible costs they could incur when they offer financial assistance.[15] The article also mentioned that fintech “would provide data to the FPA that it planned to use to help planners benchmark their business costs and efficiencies against their peers”.[15]

FPA Four Pillars Policy
FPA logo

The FPA published a report titled “The Four Pillars Policy”.[16] It is written in an interview style featuring the CEO of FPA, Dante De Gori. According to the report the key elements of the Four Pillars Policy are; 1. Public Interest, 2. Professional Practitioner, 3. Government and Regulatory and 4. Code of Professional Practice.[16] Dante De Gori was quoted saying that,” The Four Policy Pillars process is a transparent framework whereby all member practitioners and key stakeholders can help shape existing and future FPA policy.[16]

FPA Congress 2018

The first day on the congress placed attention on technology, the association announced an app and launched the fintech buyers guide on the day.[17]

There were several topics discussed at the congress held 2018 November, these include:

Conflict of Interest of Advisers

A former ASIC senior investigator spoke at the congress saying that it is the advisers’ responsibility and not the institutions’ or the licensee’ responsibility to manage their conflicts of interest. He recommended ASIC Regulatory Guide 175 which according to him covers the” conflict priority rule”.[18]

Find a Planner

During the congress the FPA announced it planned to extend its Find a Planner service, promising to include personality and profiles when finding a suitable person for its members. Regarding the Find a Planner service it according to its reports “ has proven very successful, with on average 6900 searches, 14,500 profile views and 40 direct messages per month.”[19]

Certified Financial Planner designation

The head of policy and standards at FPA mentioned that the CFP designation would be reviewed following the release of the Financial Advice Standards and Ethics Authority's proposed framework. According to an article by ProfessionalPlanner, Ben Marshan told attendees that “ the initial focus for the FPA would be on producing submissions to FASEA’s consultation on the proposal and coming to an understanding of what the final standard were” before the FPA could proceed with CFP.[20]

The 2018 FPA Congress was a three-day event from 21 to 23 November. They had functions held called the “FPA Professional Practice Workshop: how sale ready is your business?” partnered AdviserLogic group, “ Paraplanner Workshop: paraplanner potential- own your career”, “Welcome Reception and Expo Opening”, on the 2nd day “Future2 Celebration at National Maritime Museum” partnered with BT and on the last day “FPA Women in Wealth Breakfast” partnered with CommonwealthPrivate. The 2019 Financial Planning Association Congress will be held on 27 to 29 November at the Melbourne Convention Exhibition Centre. The 2018 FPA Congress was held at the International Convention Centre, in Sydney New South Wales.[21]

FPA Professionals Congress 2019

The 2019 Financial Planning Association Congress will be held on 27 to 29 November at the Melbourne Convention Exhibition Centre.[5] The FPA has announced their planned schedule for the congress which will be held at the end of 2019. The first speaker for the congress was announced to be Mitch Anthony who is the founder and president of Adviser Insights Inc.[5]

They plan on holding networking events across the first two days of the congress on 27 and 28 November.[5] On the first day of the congress, they have scheduled; a) Welcome Reception and Expo Opening, b) Paraplanner Workshop and c) FPA Professional Practice Workshop. While on the second day they expect to hold FPA Women in Wealth Breakfast and Future2 Celebration.[5]

Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA)

The financial adviser standards and ethics authority was founded by the government of Australia after the then Financial Services Minister Kelly Dwyer revealed and informed the public of reforms intended to raise the standards required for financial advisers.[22] The purpose of the financial adviser standards and ethics authority according to an article by Professional Planner is to be “a body that would be responsible for determining exactly what a professional adviser looks like”.[22] Its board members were picked based on their academia, ethics and advice.[22] In an article written by Professional Planner, the FPA released a white paper in response to the formation of FASEA, within the white paper they recommended that a 100-point system be adopted to help differentiate between degrees that are required and those that are irrelevant.[22]

At the FPA professionals congress in November 2018, an article published by Money Management reported that the Financial Planning Association of Australia's head of policy and standards Ben Marshan announced that the association will assist FASEA when it concerns the transitional standards that they are to impose.[23] In the article by Money Management it was also revealed that the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority chief executive Stephen Glenfield had during the professional congress mentioned that “he believed there were 150 programs provided for in the draft legislative instrument”.[23]

Relationship with other Associations

The Professional Planner published an article in December 2018, which discussed that the FPA had signed an agreement with the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA), Boutique Financial Planners( BFA), the Financial Services Institute of Australasia (FINISA), the Self-managed Superannuation Fund Association (SMSF Association) and the Stockbrokers and Financial Advisers Association (SAFAA).[24] SAFAA chief executive was quoted in the article saying that the alliance “ provides [advisers] with the lowest unit-cost solution,….while giving clients the best possible protection”, on the other hand, FPAs’ chief executive said that “the co-operation agreement would allow the profession to gain control of the process.”[24]

Life Insurance task force

Money Management published that the FPA and AFA (Association of Financial Advisers) confirmed to them their establishment of a Life Insurance task force.[25] According to the article by Money Management the aim of this task force is to “provide a single voice to the Government on what the advice industry believes should happen when the Life Insurance Framework runs its course and is reviewed by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission in 2021”.[25]

Insurance dilemma with AFCA

The FPA issued a warning to the AFCA (Australian Financial Complaints Authority) regarding its dealings with cases from as early as 2008.[26] Money Management stated that “The FPA is concerned about whether professional indemnity (PI) policies put in place around 2008, will cover a potential legacy complaint…. and the FPA was also concerned about the impact of potential legacy claims on financial planners and the future PI insurance market”.[26] The chief executive of the FPA informed the AFCA in a written submission that the professional indemnity issue required further attention by the complaints authority alongside also the professional indemnity insurance industry, this was published by the website ifa.com.au in April 2019.[27]

References
  1. "FPA - the home of qualified financial planning professionals". The Financial Planning Association of Australia. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
  2. "Membership". The Financial Planning Association of Australia. Retrieved 2019-05-11.
  3. "Become a member". The Financial Planning Association of Australia. Retrieved 2019-05-11.
  4. "Education". The Financial Planning Association of Australia. Retrieved 2019-05-11.
  5. "FPA Professionals Congress | Melbourne 27 – 29 November 2019". fpacongress.com.au. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
  6. "FPA Chapters - your local community of financial planners". The Financial Planning Association of Australia. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
  7. "FPA Community". The Financial Planning Association of Australia. Retrieved 2019-05-11.
  8. Yeates, Clancy (2018-04-26). "FPA tried to protect celebrity planner Sam Henderson's reputation". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
  9. Reporter, Business; Robertson, rew (2018-04-27). "Royal commission shows us why financial planning, in its current form, isn't worth the risk". ABC News. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
  10. "Signing into eresources, The University of Sydney Library". login.ezproxy1.library.usyd.edu.au. Retrieved 2019-05-11.
  11. J, business reporter Michael; a (2018-04-24). "Fair Work commissioner would have lost $500,000 due to poor advice". ABC News. Retrieved 2019-05-11.
  12. "Royal Commission questions industry". Money & Life. 2018-11-15. Retrieved 2019-06-03.
  13. "FSU sees 'spike' in interest from advisers". Professional Planner. 2019-04-28. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
  14. November 23, Glenis Phillips SF Fin on; Announcements, 2017 in; news (2017-11-23). "The Fintech White Paper - why fintech is not a threat". Financial Mappers. Retrieved 2019-05-11.
  15. "FPA launches fintech assistance | Money Management". www.moneymanagement.com.au. 2019-03-24. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
  16. "FPA FourPolicyPillars" (PDF).
  17. "Tech takes centre stage at FPA Congress | Money Management". www.moneymanagement.com.au. 2018-11-21. Retrieved 2019-05-11.
  18. "Advisers can't 'disclose away' conflicts". Professional Planner. 2018-11-22. Retrieved 2019-05-11.
  19. "FPA makes bet on souped-up matching tool". Professional Planner. 2018-11-21. Retrieved 2019-05-11.
  20. "FPA says CFP designation up for review". Professional Planner. 2018-11-22. Retrieved 2019-05-11.
  21. "FPA Congress". fpacongress.com.au. Retrieved 2019-05-11.
  22. "Back to school: Preparing for the incoming education standards". Professional Planner. 2018-01-29. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
  23. "FPA reiterates support for planners in face of FASEA | Money Management". www.moneymanagement.com.au. 2018-11-22. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
  24. "Associations band together around code monitoring". Professional Planner. 2018-12-19. Retrieved 2019-05-11.
  25. "FPA and AFA join forces on life/risk commissions | Money Management". www.moneymanagement.com.au. 2019-05-21. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
  26. "FPA warns on AFCA PI insurance dilemma | Money Management". www.moneymanagement.com.au. 2019-04-30. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
  27. Hastie, Eliot (2019-04-25). "FPA raises concerns about AFCA rule changes". www.ifa.com.au. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
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