It feels like the dawn of a new era for advisers, following the announcement of the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA). There are some very familiar names there, and it’s great to see the government acknowledge the industry needs to be guided by its own.
It also feels that finally, after the upheaval and change this industry has necessarily gone through, there is starting to be a road cut out for advisers to follow and some certainty as to where the profession is headed. And it’s all good.
Why do I say that? While I know for sure there will be more bad press and bad eggs being exposed in the industry, I also know that the majority of change has been done. And this in itself is fantastic news – because change is exhausting.
My family and I moved house in December, which was to fulfill a dream of living in the Blue Mountains. What I did not expect however, was how much time and attention changing the landscape for us and our children would take. I realised change was exhausting and took way more time and attention than the status quo.
This feeling of exhaustion, and of continuous attention to the new details coming to light, is exactly the way the entire industry must have been feeling as legislative changes were taking place.
To come to a point where the future of our education standards is now being articulated by a group of industry professionals, and the description financial planner enshrined in law, is a breakthrough in this landscape, and that should not be underestimated.
The expectations on education are now clear. Dante De Gori, chief executive of the FPA, gave an excellent description of this in his last FPA Update with us and now all advisers have a playbook to refer to.
It is the hope that the increases in standards leads to an increase in consumer confidence and demand for professional advice. I know we here at No More Practice will be working hard to raise awareness of the brilliant job advisers do, and the transformational power of good advice over the long term.
At the moment I am having a series of fascinating discussions with advisers about the challenges of building a scalable advice practice. I have been heartened to hear that advisers are developing models for advice for one-off life events, different age groups and price ranges, for ongoing services. It is this kind of flexibility that will see more Australians take up advice.
As we enjoy the Easter holidays, and hopefully many of you get a break to enjoy time with your family and friends, take time to reflect on how far we have come, how much is now certain, and what a difference what you do makes.
As always, I am proud to be part of this community.
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