Planners watch Sinodinos ICAC events

financial-planning-groups/financial-planning/FOFA/assistant-treasurer/financial-advice/future-of-financial-advice/federal-opposition/

18 March 2014
| By Mike Taylor |
image
image
expand image

With both legislative and regulatory changes to the Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) regime currently in the hands of Assistant Treasurer, Senator Arthur Sinodinos, financial planning groups are closely monitoring events within the NSW Independent Commission against Corruption (ICAC). 

The ICAC was yesterday told that Sinodinos, as the then NSW treasurer of the Liberal Party and a member of the Obeid-linked Australian Water Holdings, stood to make tens of millions of dollars from the company and that he made around $200,000 from just a couple of weeks’ work. 

The Assistant Treasurer has abandoned any rights he may hold to shares in the company. 

The ICAC proceedings are expected to become a focus in the Federal Parliament and to place the Assistant Treasurer’s tenure in the portfolio under pressure but, as yet, neither the Federal Opposition nor the Greens have raised the issue in either the Senate or the House of Representatives. 

For his part, Sinodinos has denied any wrongdoing and has signaled he is looking forward to assisting the inquiry. 

The nervousness being felt by financial planning groups is owed to their desire to avoid any delay to the FOFA changes - something that might occur if the Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, felt the need to ask a minister to stand aside, even temporarily. 

The regulatory changes to the FOFA arrangements are almost ready, while the legislative changes are expected to take longer and are likely to be rejected by Labor and Green Senators under the current make-up of the Senate. 

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 ...

2 months 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....

4 weeks 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 6 days ago

Minister for Financial Services, Stephen Jones, has provided further information about the second tranche of the Delivering Better Financial Outcomes (DBFO) reforms....

1 week 5 days ago

TOP PERFORMING FUNDS