Industry welcomes Simpler Regulatory System Bill

Industry associations broadly welcomed the introduction of the Simpler Regulatory System Bill into the House of Representatives yesterday.

Investment and Financial Services Association chief executive Richard Gilbert and Financial Planning Association (FPA) chief executive Jo-Anne Bloch both congratulated the Government on the proposed legislation’s compliance benefits for industry and consumers.

Gilbert said the Bill would “enable improved access to financial advice, enhance investor participation, reduce compliance costs and improve business efficiency”.

“Some companies report compliance costs with legislation and regulations governing the financial services industry to be as high as 10 per cent to 15 per cent of total operating costs — so any reduction in these costs will eventually trickle down to consumers.”

He added that the replacement of the threshold that requires a Statement of Advice with a Record of Advice for relatively small investments of up to $15,000 is a “sensible and timely measure that will be of great assistance to smaller investors”.

Bloch said the legislation would “ease the compliance burden on financial planners, making good financial advice cheaper and more accessible to the majority of Australians”.

She said it included several critical improvements that would “ensure FPA practitioner members can help Australians who want advice as to how they can consolidate multiple but small super accounts”.

“It will also help those who cannot afford advice because of difficult circumstances or who simply want a bit of guidance and don’t necessarily have any money to invest,” she said.

Meanwhile, the FPA has appointed the former secretary general of the Institutional Money Market Funds Association (IMMFA) in the UK, Gerard Fitzpatrick, as its new general manager, policy and government relations.

Fitzpatrick took up his new role in Sydney yesterday, replacing John Anning, who resigned in March this year.