Upfront commissions not the problem: BFP


Banning upfront commissions on insurance products is not the answer to weeding out unscrupulous advisers, according to The Boutique Financial Planning Principals' Group.
According to the group's president, Dacian Moses, the behaviour itself has to be targeted and not the remuneration structure in isolation.
He said while he agrees with the Financial Planning Association (FPA) that educational standards must be lifted, much of the problems besetting insurance advisers actually stem from "product design and pricing flaws".
"While the BFP is unaware of any members being the subject of adverse findings we can say that all of our members are AFS licensees focused on holistic financial planning which often includes "strategic life insurance advice" as recommended by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in its report," he added.
Recommended for you
ASIC has cancelled the AFSL of a Perth financial services firm following payments to its clients by the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort after a failed managed investment scheme.
Bravura chief executive Andrew Russell has announced he will be stepping down from the company, just under two years after his appointment.
Financial advice businesses with a younger, wealthier client base are enjoying higher valuations and increased attention from potential buyers than those with older clients.
A financial advice firm has been penalised $11 million in the Federal Court for providing ‘cookie cutter advice’ to its clients and breaching conflicted remuneration rules.