The Financial Services Council has appointed four new directors to the Board, two of whom are high profile dealer group heads sourced from a new, expanded membership cohort of financial advice businesses, as the council deepens its engagement with the financial advice sector.
The other new directors are sourced from the FSC’s funds management membership. The new appointments are:
- Keith Cullen, Managing Director of WT Financial Group
- Neil Younger, Managing Director and Group CEO of Fortnum Financial Group
- Esther Kerr, CEO for Wealth and Capital Markets, Australian Unity
- Andrew Creber, CEO for Australia and New Zealand, J.P. Morgan Asset Management
Describing the council as the “leading voice” in the superannuation, financial advice, investment platforms and funds management sectors, FSC Chairman David Bryant says the appointment of four senior industry leaders “..brings new depth of expertise to the FSC board and will further strengthen our representation of the industry.”
The council says it has also welcomed new financial advice businesses to its membership ”… to deepen its engagement with the sector.”
It says this “…new model of engagement will add the advice licensees’ expertise to the FSC’s policy development processes and comes at a critical time in the financial advice reform debate.”
Advice licensees joining the FSC under this initiative include:
- Count Ltd
- Fortnum Private Wealth
- Infocus
- Otivo
- Rhombus Advisory Pty Ltd
- WT Financial Group
On the expansion of the council’s membership, FSC CEO Blake Briggs, says the financial services industry “…is at its strongest when it speaks with a unified voice on regulatory and policy issues that impact the sector and its consumers.”
…I am pleased to have this opportunity to appoint directors from the financial advice sector to deepen our engagement and strengthen our advocacy on advice issues…
“The FSC has a leading role unifying the industry on reform initiatives, and I am pleased to have this opportunity to appoint directors from the financial advice sector to deepen our engagement and strengthen our advocacy on advice issues,” he says.
Cullen notes that delivering more affordable and accessible financial advice for Australian consumers “…is a priority for the FSC and the advice profession and I look forward to contributing to a strong, unified industry voice that ensures reform remains a priority for the Government.”
Younger says that at a pivotal time for the financial advice profession he looks forward to “…contributing the experience and insights of financial advisers and licensees to the FSC’s policy development, to help deliver a more efficient regulatory framework for financial advisers and their clients.”
