FPA and AFA’s complaint-handling approaches face scrutiny
Financial Planning Association (FPA) chief executive, Dante de Gori is scheduled to appear before the Royal Commission today in the wake of earlier testimony by former financial planning member, Sam Henderson that he had resigned his membership over the FPA’s complaints handling procedures.
The appearance of the FPA also came as the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA) works towards implementation of a code of conduct and as the FPA and the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) seek to secure code-monitoring status.
The chief executive of the AFA, Phil Kewin was also scheduled to appear before the Royal Commission today with the witness list also mentioning Dover Financial Planning’s chief executive, Terry McMaster and senior Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) executive, Louise Macauley.
The Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry heard on Tuesday that following the filing of a complaint with the FPA by a former client, Donna McKenna, Henderson had written to de Gori describing the organisation’s complaints-handling process as “very disappointing after my many years of support for the FPA”.
He went on to say that whilst he had tried to be open and honest about the situation, “I’m afraid my support for the FPA is at a conclusion”.
Asked to explain why he had written to the FPA chief executive, Henderson denied he was seeking de Gori’s intervention in the McKenna complaint, but was “reaching out in a state of desperation, because I just wanted to be heard”.
The Royal Commission was told that the FPA investigation had concluded that Henderson “has a case to answer in respect to a number of breaches”.
The Royal Commission also heard that the complaint process had still not reached finality.
Recommended for you
AZ NGA has entered into a strategic partnership with national advice firm MiQ Private Wealth, as a way to provide a succession solution, as well as career development opportunities for staff.
While the advice profession struggles under growing operating costs, Adviser Ratings has found more than half of practices – some 58 per cent – that generate less than $250,000 in revenue report no profit at all.
The Federal Court has ordered the freezing of assets and the appointment of receivers to two entities linked to Australian Fiduciaries, ASIC’s latest move in an ongoing investigation into the company’s managed investment schemes.
Off the back of the August adviser exam results, the profession has seen 17 new entrants hit the Financial Adviser Register (FAR) this week, helping numbers return to positive territory.
