Which licensees saw the most complaints in FY24?
New data from the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) has shed light on the licensees that recorded the most consumer complaints in the last financial year.
According to AFCA’s latest Datacube statistics from July 2023 to June 2024, excluding Dixon Advisory, AMP Financial Planning took the top spot among the licensees to receive the most complaints about financial advice, receiving 30 during this time period.
This was followed by Sequoia-owned InterPrac Financial Planning (14) and Madison Financial Group (11). Madison, which was offloaded by Clime earlier this year, was acquired by Infocus Wealth Management in June this year.
NextGen Financial Group, which was forced into liquidation in September 2023 and saw its AFS licence cancelled in February 2024, also featured on the list, receiving 10 complaints.
Bridges Financial Services, part of Insignia Financial, was close behind, receiving 7 complaints.
Count Financial also featured among the top 20 financial advice firms in AFCA’s latest statistics, notching 7 complaints.
Further down the list, other licensees that recorded single-digit complaints in the last financial year included Infocus (6), now-liquidated Libertas Financial Planning (6), AMP-owned Charter Financial Planning (5), and Rhombus Advisory-owned RI Advice (5).
Source: AFCA Datacube
However, the top spot remained held by Dixon Advisory which received 846 complaints during this time period. The firm was notably expelled from AFCA earlier this year, with its membership ceasing on 30 June, preventing it from accepting new complaints relating to the financial firm.
As of 30 June 2024, AFCA confirmed the total complaints it had received relating to losses under Dixon stood at 2,773.
The complaints authority has since told Money Management that as of 29 October, it has now closed 128 Dixon complaints received since AFCA’s inception on 1 November 2018. These closures include 91 determinations.
This represents 4.6 per cent of the total complaints AFCA will be working through.
Last month, AFCA also reported investment and advice complaints have dropped by over a quarter in FY24, however inappropriate advice remains the most prevalent complaint afflicting the sector.
In its annual report for FY24, AFCA said it received 3,559 complaints about investment and advice, down 26 per cent from FY23. In the previous year, it had received 4,840 which was a rise of 50 per cent during the 12-month period driven by Dixon Advisory.
“Excluding complaints about Dixon Advisory and Superannuation Services, investment and advice complaints reached an all-time low at 2,709 complaints. This reflects the positive impact of enhanced education standards and increased professionalism within the industry, leading to fewer disputes,” it said.
AUTHOR
Rhea Nath
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