Dale-Jones happy with Code Working Group

The chairman of the Code Working Group, Angus Dale-Jones, responds to criticism of the make up of the group and also outlines its plans.

Wednesday, August 9th 2017, 3:15PM

The chairman of the working group set up to develop a new industry code of conduct has deflected criticism of a lack of adviser involvement.

Angus Dale-Jones, formerly part of the Securities Commission and the Australian regulator ASIC before that, has been appointed to lead the group that will develop the code to accompany the new advice legislation.

"It’s an industry that I’ve been closely related to for a while and it’s a continuation, if you like, of some of the work that I had done when I was at the Securities Commission and as a consultant since then," Dale-Jones said.

"I feel passionately about this industry and I thought that this was a way that I could continue to help."

The existing code, which applies only to authorised financial advisers, would be a good starting point, he said.

"We have a huge advantage over the existing Code Committee, which was a different form with different people eight years ago. They had nothing to start with, other than looking at some ideas from the industry and some ideas from overseas. Now, we have a code that’s been trialed, consulted on in detail and, by all accounts, is working really well. This is about understanding that the context is now broader, and making sure that what we come up with stretches into that context in a sensible way."

The new document would be more of a service code, he said, applying to more people, including those in organisations or those offering digital advice.

Dale-Jones would not comment on criticism that the working group does not include a practicing adviser.

He said he had not had any expectations of who should be on the committee but the people nominated would help it tap into parts of financial services that the existing code had not dealt with.

"I applied on the basis that it would be a committee chosen by the Minister, based on advice from MBIE, and that I would work with that committee. I’ve got to say, from a chair point of view, I’ve got a team of really skilled people on the committee. Better than that, we’ve got to make sure in our consultation process that we’re fully engaged with the financial advice community. I understand completely that that’s different from having financial advisers on the committee, but judge us on our transparency and judge us on how engaged we are with financial advisers."

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Tags: AFA Angus Dale-Jones Code Committee Code Working Group conduct financial advisers MoBIE