Financial planning under scrutiny at Royal Commission


Financial planning executives face a grilling before the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services industry next week, with the major banks and AMP scheduled to deal with fees for no service, platform fees and inappropriate financial advice.
The Royal Commission has confirmed the appearance of Westpac, the Commonwealth Bank, ANZ and AMP in the second round of public hearings in Melbourne next week, alongside the Financial Planning Association (FPA), the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) and the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) to discuss the disciplinary regime around the financial advice profession.
The five topic areas to be traversed during the public hearings are:
- Fees for no service
- Investment platform fees
- Inappropriate financial advice
- Improper conduct by financial advisers
- The disciplinary regime for the financial advice profession
The Royal Commission said the second round of public hearings would consider the conduct of financial services entities that provide financial advice to consumers, including the treatment of consumers, compliance with the law and community standards and expectations, and the sufficiency of the current legal and regulatory structure.
Recommended for you
Advisers at DOD Bookkeeping, which received an $11 million penalty last week, received as much as 40 per cent of their remuneration via a bonus when clients purchased a property via a SMSF, according to court documents.
Private wealth manager Escala Partners has launched an end-to-end investment platform to strengthen its alternatives capability as clients seek sophisticated vehicles.
Perpetual Wealth Management has hired two advisers from Ord Minnett as part of five hires, just weeks after the rival firm announced it had picked up six from Perpetual Private.
ASIC has cancelled the AFSL of a Perth financial services firm following payments to its clients by the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort after a failed managed investment scheme.