Charge of the lite (advice) brigade

After a multi-decade all-out assault on the Australian financial planning industry, the regulator across the Tasman sounded a, limited, retreat in November.

In a consultation paper that admits the advice market could be in real trouble, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is seeking ways to repair some of the damage.

“The financial advice industry has undergone considerable change in recent years,” the ASIC paper says. “Many large financial institutions have either sold or reduced their financial advice businesses. At the same time, a number of financial advisers have either left, or signalled their intention to leave, the industry.”

All told, the Australian financial planning market shrunk by almost 15% over January 2019 to November this year, ASIC says, equating to an adviser exodus of some 3,500 – or just under twice the size of the entire authorised financial adviser (AFA) population in New Zealand.