CBA planners counter FPA criticisms

A number of financial planners working within the Commonwealth Bank have taken exception to a Chairman’s Update written by Financial Planning Association (FPA) chairman, Matthew Rowe, in which he has been harshly critical of the culture and actions which led to current events. 

A number of those planners have used an FPA blog to respond to Rowe’s criticism and took the time to forward their responses to Money Management. 

While the FPA chairman acknowledged the number of his organisation’s members who were employed by CBA, among the comments made in his update was claim that of those FPA members who had been sanctioned by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), almost half had been part of the Commonwealth Bank. 

“A key statistic we have used over and over again is the fact that FPA members account for over half of all financial planners in Australia and yet in the last five years we only account for 7 per cent of ASIC sanctions,” Rowe’s update said. “We have had 9 FPA members sanctioned by ASIC over the last five years. A telling statistic is, of these 9, we have had 4 members banned whom were engaged by the CBA group. So, almost half of our members sanctioned in the last 5 years have been a part of the CBA.” 

“I believe we only get what we accept or tolerate, and on behalf of our members, we are no longer willing to accept what has been made public about the Commonwealth Bank’s management practices,” the FPA chairman said. 

In response, planners working within the CBA responded variously that they had taken “umbrage” at Rowe’s commentary, while another stated, “I am an ethical individual, as I believe are the majority of my colleagues and take it personally that you dump me/us in the same bucket as a few crooks. Clean out the crooks but don’t brand me on the way.” 

Another responded, “Financial Wisdom moved to a Quality of Advice regime ages ago. The amount of income a practice generates does impact on the level of acknowledgment an adviser receives but so does business acumen, compliance scores, education and more. (Even membership of the FPA is considered) Your implication that Financial Wisdom is driven by product sales is a bloody insult”. 

Another wrote: “My summary of your statement is that it is insulting, pretentious and opportunistic. It will offend a good number of quality advisers who, like me, will feel put upon by an Association I expect will defend me. It is a statement that will fan our critics and just cause more pane (sic).” 

FPA chief executive, Mark Rantall earlier this week issued a statement which announced that the FPA was  “putting itself forward as a circuit breaker to the current impasse”. 

“We will agree to form a joint committee with CBA to commence the process of identifying all clients and establishing fair and reasonable compensation,” the statement said.