The enhanced Australian Securities and Investments Commission Financial Adviser Register has been launched.
Available through ASIC’s MoneySmart website, the register is designed to help consumers to find out where a financial adviser has worked and what products they can advise on.
The enhanced register was originally flagged by the Government in July 2014, as part of a deal made with the Palmer United Party to secure their support for the Coalition’s Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) amendments. While the alliance is no longer in place, the Government continued to pursue the enhanced register, releasing draft regulations in December 2014. The regulations were finalised in early 2015.
The ASIC Financial Adviser Register expands on the service originally available through the regulator, and allows users to search for an adviser by their name, license number or ABN. Each result now shows the adviser’s employment history, the products they are licensed to provide advice on, and whether they have been subject to any enforcement action.
It also gives employers greater ability to assess new financial advisers
Also included in the register is a field called ‘Controlled by’. According to the website, this refers to ‘the company(ies) or people who control the licensee’s business’. It would appear that this field is designed to provide consumers with information about the links their adviser may have with a product provider. For example, for advisers operating under the Securitor license, the ‘Controlled by’ field displays ‘Westpac Corporation’. Advisers licensed through Matrix are shown as ‘Controlled by: ClearView Wealth Limited’.
ASIC Deputy Chairman, Peter Kell, said: ‘The new register enables consumers to find out information about their adviser before they receive financial advice. It also gives employers greater ability to assess new financial advisers and will improve ASIC’s ability to identify and monitor financial advisers.
“ASIC encourages consumers to visit ASIC’s MoneySmart website to check out a financial adviser they are thinking of dealing with, and do some homework before they proceed. This way, consumers can give themselves the best chance of getting financial advice that meets their needs.
As part of the launch, ASIC said it had updated the information for consumers on its MoneySmart website about choosing financial adviser, including what questions to ask.
“ASIC will now focus its efforts on the second stage of the register which will capture financial adviser qualification, training and professional membership details to be completed and on the register by end May 2015,” Mr Kell said.
The arrival of the ASIC register will not restore faith in the planner market overnight
Coinciding with the launch of the enhanced register, consumer advocacy group, Adviser Ratings, has updated its own site, to help users find out more about the cost of financial advice.
“The arrival of the ASIC register will not restore faith in the planner market overnight but it marks a significant turning point where more and more tools including ours are being put in consumers’ hands to help them drive change through more discerning decisions,” said Adviser Rating Campaign and Communications Director, Christopher Zinn.
Mr Zinn said advisers can now upload their fee schedules and Financial Services Guides to Adviser Ratings, helping to improve transparency in the advice market.
Since its launch in October 2014, Adviser Ratings says that more than 2,000 advisers have populated their profiles on the site, and many have invited their clients to rate and review their service levels.
Click here to view ASIC’s Financial Adviser Register.
