{"id":3264,"date":"2009-10-05T09:01:07","date_gmt":"2009-10-04T23:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/?p=3264"},"modified":"2019-09-27T19:06:16","modified_gmt":"2019-09-27T09:06:16","slug":"bernie-ripoll-on-commissions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/2009\/10\/05\/bernie-ripoll-on-commissions\/","title":{"rendered":"Bernie Ripoll on Commissions"},"content":{"rendered":"

The issue\u00a0of adviser commission and the role it plays, both now and in the future, was highlighted by Bernie Ripoll<\/strong>, \u00a0MP<\/strong>,\u00a0at the opening session of the AFA 2009 Annual Conference.<\/p>\n

Mr Ripoll, who chairs the Parliamentary Joint Committee (PJC) Inquiry into Financial Products and Services in Australia, shared with advisers his views about the role of the Inquiry and the outcomes he and his committee are seeking.<\/p>\n

On the polarising issue of adviser\u00a0commissions, Mr Ripoll said the role commissions play is a key focal point of the Inquiry and that “… it will come under a lot of scrutiny.”<\/p>\n

Mr Ripoll said that from the point of view of the\u00a0Australian consumer, there can be a perception, real or imagined,\u00a0that conflicts of interest exist when a financial\u00a0adviser is remunerated by way of commission.<\/p>\n

According to Mr Ripoll, in any consideration of the future role of commissions in the financial services landscape, there must be greater clarity and the consumer must be protected, with Mr Ripoll asking what it is that the consumer is actually paying for – what is the connection between what the consumer buys and how much they pay?<\/p>\n

…commission payments made on the sale of life insurance products was one of the areas that would definitely be considered separately…<\/h6>\n

Mr\u00a0Ripoll also stressed that the topic of ‘commissions’ is not a simple area because not all commissions are the same.\u00a0 He later confirmed to Riskinfo that commission payments made on the sale of life insurance products was one of the areas that would definitely be considered separately\u00a0when addressing \u00a0the broader debate on the future of commissions as payment for the provision of personal\u00a0financial advice.<\/p>\n

There were other\u00a0major issues highlighted by Mr Ripoll as he addressed each of the Inquiry’s\u00a0key terms of reference, which include:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • The role of financial advisers<\/li>\n
  • The general regulatory environment for these products and services<\/li>\n
  • The role played by commission arrangements relating to product sales and advice, including the potential for conflicts of interest, the need for appropriate disclosure, and remuneration models for financial advisers<\/li>\n
  • The role played by marketing and advertising campaigns<\/li>\n
  • The adequacy of licensing arrangements for those who sold the products and services<\/li>\n
  • The appropriateness of information and advice provided to consumers considering investing in those products and services, and how the interests of consumers can best be served<\/li>\n
  • Consumer education and understanding of these financial products and services<\/li>\n
  • The adequacy of professional indemnity insurance arrangements for those who sold the products and services, and the impact on consumers<\/li>\n
  • The need for any legislative or regulatory change<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    In distilling Mr Ripoll’s message to advisers and the industry in general about the changes his Committee will recommend when it hands down its findings on 23 November, those recommendations will be motivated by a desire to:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Introduce greater simplicity into the financial services sector and to the relationship that exists between adviser and client<\/li>\n
    2. Engender greater consumer confidence in the Australian financial services industry<\/li>\n
    3. Introduce greater clarity into the rules and regulations that govern the financial services industry, including clarification of\u00a0the term ‘financial adviser’<\/li>\n
    4. Create a greater understanding amongst the public about the importance\u00a0of financial advice and the vital\u00a0role it plays in helping Australians to build, manage and protect their wealth and the\u00a0future of their families and businesses<\/li>\n
    5. See the financial services industry self-regulate on all key areas under debate, including fee for service and commissions, clarification of the\u00a0term financial adviser, review of educational standards for those providing personal financial advice, ongoing review and\u00a0monitoring of the personal financial advice provided to consumers<\/li>\n
    6. Impose Government intervention as a last resort<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      The issue\u00a0of adviser commission and the role it plays, both now and in the future, was highlighted by Bernie Ripoll, \u00a0MP,\u00a0at the opening session of the AFA 2009 Annual Conference. Mr Ripoll, who chairs the Parliamentary Joint Committee (PJC) Inquiry into Financial Products and Services in Australia, shared with advisers his views about the role […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[241,3,270],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-conferences-and-events","category-general","category-remuneration","headers-new"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3264","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3264"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3264\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}