Recent press coverage, and the soon to commence Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) reforms, have done little to inspire confidence in financial planners, who have fallen nearly 10 places on the Reader’s Digest annual list of most trusted professions.
The list, published each year by the magazine, asks the Australian public to rank the trustworthiness of a variety of professions, including paramedics, lawyers, accountants and financial planners. In 2012, financial planners ranked 28 out of 40. In 2013, planners fell 8 places to number 36 (out of 50).
Insurance salespeople also failed to impress, achieving the 48th position on the 2013 list, down from 37 in 2012. Accountants fared slightly better, reaching number 30 on the 2013 list (although this was a fall of 9 places on 2012).
In 2012, bankers were rated behind financial planners at number 29, but this year they pulled just ahead (at number 35). On a positive note, financial professionals are still more trusted than lawyers, CEOs, real estate agents and politicians.
The number one position was shared between firefighters and paramedics. Rescue volunteers, nurses and pilots rounded out the top five.
The results paint a similar picture to a Roy Morgan survey conducted in May 2013, which found that just 25% of people rated financial advisers as very honest and ethical (see: Majority of Australians Still Don’t Trust Advisers).
