Help given to prevent financial abuse

financial-advisers/platforms/financial-abuse/CPD/Anne-McGowan/

13 July 2021
| By Laura Dew |
image
image
expand image

A platform has been launched to help advisers reduce financial abuse as misconduct rises during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The platform from Protecting Seniors Wealth would help advisers to improve and assist in protecting clients from abuse including protective and preventative measures and perpetrator profiles. It would be available online and offered continuing professional development (CPD) opportunities. 

Topics included professional management of financial abuse, senior abuse, ‘inheritance impatience’, and professional accountability in assisting clients. 

Anne McGowan, chief executive of the organisation, said financial abuse was rising during the pandemic and lack of adviser education on the topic was a factor in being unable to prevent it. 

Around 80% of older Victorians had suffered some form of abuse, according to the National Ageing Research Institute Senior Rights Victoria. 

“Financial abuse is devastating for seniors and vulnerable people as their money and/or property is taken, stolen or swindled,” she said. 

“It is like a perfect storm presenting huge problems for the industry and senior clients with reports of misconduct rising 20%, according to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. 

“A very high percentage of senior abuse is directly related to financial abuse. If the industry was much better informed around how to recognise the often complex or complicated situations, and actually planning for prevention, which we cover fully in the training program, we could potentially see a huge decrease in the rate of people impacted and essentially see considerably better outcomes.” 

Read more about:

AUTHOR

Recommended for you

sub-bgsidebar subscription

Never miss the latest news and developments in wealth management industry

MARKET INSIGHTS

So we are now underwriting criminal scams?...

1 month 3 weeks ago

Glad to see the back of you Steve. You made financial more expensive, not more affordable as you claim, and presided ...

1 month 4 weeks ago

Completely agree Peter. The definition of 'significant change is circumstances relevant to the scope of the advice' is s...

4 months ago

Entireti has unveiled the new name for the AMP financial advice businesses that it acquired last year....

3 weeks 3 days ago

A Sydney financial adviser has been permanently banned from providing any financial services, with the regulator deriding his “lack of integrity, trustworthiness and prof...

2 weeks 2 days ago

The Federal Court has made interim orders to freeze the assets of a managed investment scheme, its responsible entity, and a director....

1 month ago

TOP PERFORMING FUNDS