FPA considers legal options over critical advertisement
The Financial Planning Association (FPA) and its chief executive, Jo-Anne Bloch, are considering their legal options in the face of an advertisement which appeared in a Sydney metropolitan daily newspaper.
The FPA chair, Julie Berry, has described the advertisement, inserted by financial services firm Bannister Mansfield, as “highly offensive to financial planners”.
She said the advertisement “quite disgracefully besmirches the reputation of our CEO, Jo-Anne Bloch, the FPA and its members by comparing them to disgraced former US Presidents, Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton”.
“The advertisement questions Ms Bloch’s and FPA members’ professional integrity and honesty,” she said. “It suggests attempts by the FPA and its membership to put clients’ interests first are not genuine.”
Berry said such assertions were “totally false and highly offensive”.
The formal statement issued by the FPA said the association and Bloch “are currently considering their legal rights against Bannister Mansfield and its director, Gavin Murphy”.
Neither Bannister Mansfield nor Murphy are members of the FPA and Murphy has been publicly critical of the FPA and its policies previously.
AUTHOR
Mike Taylor
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