- No (63%)
- Yes (37%)
The results of our latest poll paint a worrying picture for dealer group compliance officers, as two-thirds of advisers have admitted they do not consider themselves FoFA-ready.
Despite significant efforts by industry groups and licensees to provide training for advisers in preparation for the commencement of the Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) reforms (the majority of which took effect on 1 July 2013), it appears that advisers are not confident in their ability to comply with the new legislation.
One of the primary concerns, according to Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) CEO, Brad Fox, is the amount of work required to deliver financial disclosure statements (FDS) to clients in an ongoing fee arrangement.
The FDS workload is extreme
“The FDS workload is extreme. It has the potential to severely impact on the profitability and sustainability of some advice practices,” Mr Fox told riskinfo last month.
“Take the identification of a disclosure date. Yes, ASIC (the Australian Securities and Investments Commission) has advised it will adopt some ‘no-action positions’ on this, but how much effort do you have to demonstrate to qualify?”
According to software provider IRESS, a solution to meet the FDS obligations has been one of the most sought after features on XPLAN over the past 12-18 months.
“We are continually investing in research and development, but the IRESS team pulled out all stops to ensure our clients were prepared for what is the most significant change to the regulatory environment advice businesses have seen,” said IRESS Executive General Manager of Wealth Management, Tizzy Vigilante.
“We anticipate that the integrated XPLAN-CommPay solution now available to all these users will mean we have made the FDS demands far more efficient and manageable.”
Do you agree with the results of our poll to date? Are you feeling positive that you could pass a compliance test if one was issued tomorrow? Are you concerned that ASIC may be heavy-handed, despite earlier promises to support industry through the first 12 months of the reforms? Have you implemented new technology solutions to help manage your FoFA obligations? We’d love to know your thoughts, as our poll remains open for another week…
