‘Think Outside the Box’ Call on Qualified Advisers

Recent news of CALI’s position on minimum education standards for qualified advisers has prompted calls for the industry to consider the potential value these advisers might deliver, were they to also work inside licensee firms and advice practices.

Currently proposed to be permitted for life companies, banks and superannuation funds as a way to increase consumer access to financial advice, the proposition for the introduction of what the Government is presently referring to as ‘qualified advisers’ was recommended by Michelle Levy in the final report of her Quality of Advice Review.

Levy’s argument is that some personal advice does not need the skills, expertise and judgment of a financial adviser and should be able to be provided by other people and entities.

There shouldn’t be one set of rules for instos and another for everyone else…

One advocate calling for a conversation about the prospect of also placing qualified advisers inside dealer groups and advice businesses is MBS Insurance co-founder, Kris Mason. Mason firmly believes that if a new tier of advice capability is to be introduced into the sector, then it should be made available across the entire market: “There shouldn’t be one set of rules for instos and another for everyone else,” says Mason.

From his perspective, Mason says the ability for qualified advisers to assume responsibility for the constant barrage of simple personal advice inquiries received within the MBS network means the 26 financial advisers presently retained by the group will have the capacity to significantly increase their productivity by virtue of being freed from their existing requirement to manage these more basic ‘Risk 101’ advice issues.

…almost any advice business, regardless of its size, would benefit from the ability to allocate simple advice issues to qualified advisers

While qualified advisers working within dealer groups would allow licensee businesses such as MBS the opportunity to drive greater productivity, greater efficiencies and greater scale, Mason argues almost any advice business, regardless of its size, would benefit from the ability to allocate simple advice issues to qualified advisers rather than imposing on the finite time of authorised representatives.

Assuming all appropriate compliance and ongoing quality control measures are observed by the AFSL, Mason also emphasises the value of internal AFSL qualified advisers as a natural pipeline for those with the right attitude and aptitude to progress to qualifying for full financial adviser status.

While he appreciates qualified advisers may not add sufficient value for some advice businesses to justify the additional costs the business would incur, Mason sees a clear benefit for his own network and believes many other AFSL businesses would also experience a positive outcome for their business and the clients they serve.

Riskinfo will report further developments and other views on this proposed initiative as the debate progresses.