Unity is the key for new FPA board

Raisingindustry standards and ensuring the full representation of all members are two of the key issues to be tackled by new board members of the Financial Planning Association (FPA).

Brennan Consulting’s Sarah Brennan, one of four new directors elected to the FPA board last week, says ensuring equality of representation for all members of the FPA is a major issue for the new board.

“I think it’s a key issue for the FPA to ensure there is representation right across the membership base, [to avoid] factions or breakaway groups,” she says.

In keeping with this theme, Brennan says that “it is very important that we continue to have a unified industry voice, both proactive and reactive to Canberra and the regulators”.

Brennan says her attention will also be directed towards the continued development of a national savings policy, recognition of financial planning as a profession, and ensuring full regulatory coverage of financial services to protect consumers.

“I also hope to see a restructuring of the terms financial planning and financial planner, and promote and support industry efficiency initiatives in the interest of the members,” Brennan says.

Another new board member, Leonie Henry, says since she entered the industry 17 years ago, her passion has been raising standards.

“The issue of greatest importance to me is that of raising standards in the industry. I would love to see [financial planning] better recognised as a profession, and more respected as an industry,” she says.

As principle of a small dealer group, Henry and Co, Henry is also interested in seeing conditions improved for smaller networks of financial planners.

“The burden of compliance for small dealers [should be] bought down to something that’s more reasonable. At the moment the amount of pressure being put on small dealers is disproportionate for a small business. I think in terms of this we are already succeeding, very positive things are happening in that area,” she says.

Joining Henry and Brennan on the new board are ex-head of Bridges Financial Services Colin Scully, and Accent Investment Services’ Corinna Dieters.

The four new members will replace David Middleton, Greg Gunther, Kevin Bailey and Kate Stephenson, who depart after having served their two-year terms.