Serious implications from CPA planning play
Accountant owners of financial planning practices will probably be wondering about the competitive impacts of CPA Australia establishing a wholly-owned subsidiary with its own Australian Financial Services License, according to Premium Wealth Management chief executive, Paul Harding-Davis.
As well, Financial Planning Association (FPA) chief executive, Mark Rantall, has pointed to the commerciality of the CPA Australia operation and its potential impacts.
"It is an interesting thing for a professional association to set up a commercial association like this," he said.
CPA Australia has announced the establishment of CPA Australia Advice Pty Ltd as a wholly-owned subsidiary of CPA Australia with the intention of beginning operations in the financial advice space early next year.
Harding-Davis said he did not believe the impact of the CPA Australia move could be underestimated in terms of either its commercial significance or scale.
He suggested that, given the breadth of membership of CPA Australia, it was possible to envisage a licensee with planner numbers approaching those of the major banks.
"But it is an extraordinary move in terms of the competitive impact it is likely to have on the market and, if you were to flip the scenario, you would have to wonder about how a professional body would feel if a planning organisation decided to move into their space," Harding-Davis said.
He said that given the number of accountants already operating in the financial planning space, it was almost inevitable that CPA Australia Advice would find itself competing against people who were actually members of its parent, CPA Australia.
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