Adviser Opinion Divided on Mandatory Association Membership

Adviser opinion is evenly divided on the prospect in future of advisers taking out mandatory membership of a professional financial services association.

Our question is:

Should financial planners/advisers be made to join a professional association in order to be able to provide professional financial advice to consumers?

At time of publication, 50% of poll respondents voted ‘No’ to the question, while 48% agree with this proposition (2% undecided).  We’ll call it a draw.

With opinion so evenly divided on this question, more clarification and debate is needed.

Some adviser feedback suggests they are unhappy about the prospect of having to join any of the current associations, but as we pointed out last week, consideration in this debate must also be given to the nature of the association itself and the standards it requires and/or the standards that ASIC may stipulate in the future.

While voting has been almost 50/50, most advisers who also registered comments were against the proposition, with a number arguing that the issue is not so much future compulsory membership, but rather the quality of education and standards that should apply:

• “If ASIC is that concerned about the quality of advice being provided then they should implement a higher standard and not do things like allowing super funds to give “basic financial advice”.
• “The only thing that will make any difference is education, as it may stop some ‘sharks’ from entering the industry in the first place.”
• “Compulsory membership of a professional organisation should be matched by the raising of minimum standards to be part of the organisation. It should be a badge of professionalism that is not based on the lowest common denominator.”
• “There was a time when belonging to a union was compulsory in order to be able to work. As a financial planner you are either professional, act ethically, and serve only your clients best interests or you don’t. No amount of words on paper or forced membership will change that.”

The volume of votes that have been cast in this poll indicate its importance to the adviser community.  If you have yet to vote and to have your say: