Michelle Levy, who led the Quality of Advice Review, has said that while the Government’s acceptance of 14 of her 22 recommendations is a welcome start, the main recommendations yet to be accepted are those that address the critical issue of accessibility of advice across all age groups.
In an ABC radio interview interview earlier this week, Levy said she is a little disappointed, but perhaps not surprised, that the Government’s initial response to her recommendations didn’t go further.
She explained the review was asked to make recommendations that would improve the quality but also the accessibility of financial advice and the main recommendations which haven’t been accepted, at this point, are those that address accessibility, and also help improve quality.
Levy noted it was important to keep in mind that financial advice is not just the advice financial advisers deliver, it also crosses into what most people think of as advertising or direct marketing, all of which is regulated as financial advice.
She told the ABC that General advice is where a lot of harm can happen, saying that it’s all of the recommendations that address that, which have not been accepted at this point in time by the Government.
Asked about Minister Stephen Jones’ comments that he was compelled by urgency to address issues regarding superannuation, Levy said while that is urgent, she worried that starting at retirement was almost too late.
As a mother to three young adult children, she felt it would help them greatly if they could get really simple advice, almost information, on how to save or how to not end up with credit card debt.
…there’s a whole spectrum of advice, which ..should be continuous and available at all points in your life…
Levy says there’s a whole spectrum of advice, which she thinks should be continuous and available at all points in your life.
Asked if the Government was cherry picking, she says she understands that superannuation is a specific need and going into retirement is hard, so the natural provider of advice is superannuation, but notes there hasn’t been detail on how Government will implement what it says it will do with respect to super.
She also worries the accepted recommendations so far won’t do a lot to encourage digital advice providers – whether through financial institutions or through independent digital advice firms.
Noting that Minister Jones says they will keep consulting on the recommendations, Levy told the ABC there’s an opportunity for people to think about what it is they would like their institutions do to help consumers with their finances.
