Advisers may miss their chance: Cortesi
Many financial advisers are not taking the review of the Financial Advisers Act seriously enough, the president of the PAA says.
Tuesday, July 7th 2015, 6:00AM 
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by Susan Edmunds
The association has announced it is holding a summit this month, on the accessibility of advice.
The summit will be a forum for discussion and development of recommendations for the FAA review across a number of areas, including closing the gap between expected behaviour and practice standards for all advisers, commission practices, replacement business, and the standards that apply to QFE staff.
PAA president Bruce Cortesi said the industry seemed to be stuck on some of the smaller issues that the review was seeking to address, and not considering the bigger picture. "The point is improving access to personalised and professional financial advice."
He said he was deeply concerned that the industry would not participate as fully as it could. Much of the communication about the review had presented it as being less relevant and important than it really was, he said.
"Advisers are very passive about the whole thing. It hasn't been impressed on them that they need to take responsibility for the industry they are working in, and contribute to its future."
They would need to realise that it was a much bigger conversation than merely discussing whether adviser designations were appropriate, he said. "Unless advisers are told they need to get involved, it's your future and the future of other generations, it's time to get serious... it may not happen."
He said: “Proper consideration of the big picture – accessibility of personalised and professional financial advice to the consumer – is essential for the FAA review to be a success. And importantly, any recommended change must encompass the entire industry – AFA/RFA/QFE and including product providers where applicable and practical. A better model can be adopted in New Zealand with all players participating to achieve a better outcome, focused on the delivery and accessibility of advice. The time is now. We need to design rules and guidelines that will ensure accessibility of advice for consumers is not only embraced by the industry, but also applied practically across the industry.”
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