BT introduces client planner ratings
Financial planners employed by BT Financial Group and its aligned dealer groups and practices will be exposed to ratings and comments from their clients on their performance.
The star rating will form an integral part of the adviser register which BTFG has decided to implement ahead of any requirement by the regulator and announced yesterday as part of a broad suite of measures including a general lifting in adviser education requirements.
BT Financial Group general manager of advice, Mark Spiers confirmed to Money Management that not only would advice clients be able to rate their advisers via "Adviser View" according to a star system but will also be able to post comments relating to that performance.
He said while such comments would be moderated, this would not be to remove any criticism of particular planner but with a view to removing defamatory or objectionable material.
Spiers described the initiative as "an important and immediate step that lifts the visibility of our advisers and their qualifications".
"The five star client satisfaction rating system is a bold move that adds even greater transparency of our advice network," he said.
However, in doing, Spiers acknowledged the some of the pitfalls which had been encountered with similar online comments-based systems such as Trip Advisor.
The BTFG announcement said that by the end of 2019 all advisers employed in the Westpac, St.George, Bank of Melbourne and BankSA networks would have to hold a Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Fellow Chartered Financial Planner Practitioners (FChFP) or Masters of Financial Planning (MoFP).
"For those who do not already have this, they will be required to achieve a minimum qualification of Advanced Diploma of Financial Planning, or the equivalent, by the end of 2015," the announcement said.
As well it said that professional membership was now compulsory and advisers were all now members with either the Financial Planning Association or the Association of Financial Advisers.
Asked about planners who may have found themselves falling below some of the educational requirements because of past grandfathering or other practices, Spiers said he believed the appropriate pathways would be in place for them to achieve the necessary standard.
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