Fletcher to head new education body

Well known financial planning figure Gwen Fletcher has been confirmed as the chair of the board and president of the newly formed Association of Financial Service Educators (AFSE).

The AFSE formally came into being on Friday when theAustralian Securities and Investments Commission(ASIC) granted the association its operating license.

Fletcher is a director ofFletcher Green Financial Servicesand theInvestment Training Collegeand shares a position on the eight member board withIntegratecgeneral manager John Prowse and ASIC national compliance officer Annette Donselaar.

The other board members are Sharon Taylor and Ray Neale from theUniversity of Western Sydney, Terry Hallahan fromRMIT, Ann Johns fromCPA Australiaand Sara Nathan from State Super.

The AFSE was formed out of the an educators conference conducted late last year with Fletcher heading up the steering committee which lead to the development of the association.

Fletcher says the launch of the association was timely and the AFSE will work in establishing protocols and standards for financial services educators.

She says the association has drafted a set of activities and a code of conduct as well as scheduling a conference on financial services education for late October in Sydney.

The conference will cover a range of issues including the education under the Financial Services Reform Bill (FSRB), the future of financial services education and the use of technology in supplying education.