Who wants membership of a licensee club?
Outsider knows that the Financial Planning Association (FPA) and the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) seek to represent financial planners and he knows that the Financial Services Council (FSC) seeks to represent insurers and other product providers so who is representing the licensees?
Outsider was prompted to think about this as he noted the number of licensee get-togethers which have occurred over recent weeks with gatherings of small licensees, gatherings of medium-sized licensees and gatherings of large licensees and some gatherings encompassing all three.
Now, in each and every case, it seems to Outsider that these gatherings were organised by one licensee or another which was seeking to achieve a common objective and very often that was a regulatory objective.
So the question in Outsider’s mind, given the pivotal role played by licensees in the regulatory system, is whether they should formalise the arrangements and form their own representative body?
Afterall, licensees do not have the pulling power they once had within the FPA and they would certainly not want to be mixing it with the insurers and other product providers who make up the various elements of the FSC.
The only question for a licensee body is where, given the constraints on soft dollar, they can expect to source the wine and beverages to fuel their meetings.
AUTHOR
The Outsider
Recommended for you
When it comes to a business merger, achieving the voting approval can be just the first step.
When it comes to human interest stories, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority is keen to let the organisations it regulates know its staff are more than just faceless automatons.
Outsider is hopeful of the news from advice firm Invest Blue that it is trialling a move to a nine-day fortnight for its staff.
With Valentines’ Day just around the corner, Outsider had better get his thinking cap on as to what he can buy for Mrs O this year.
