Financial Planning Association of Australia

The vision of the FPA is that "through our members, we stand with Australians for a better financial future."[7] The association's vision is segmented into five key roles including; representing the interests of the public, representing interests of members, fostering high professional standards, facilitating world-class education - including delivering the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® designation - and providing professional development.[7]

The FPA published a media release in May 2020 responding to the deferral of Royal Commission recommendations due to COVID-19, saying that it believed the government should remain open to reviewing the timeline given the "current uncertain environment."

At the time, the FPA said whilst it broadly agreed with the draft legislation on the Royal Commission recommendations, it did have real concerns for both the profession and consumers who it is seeking to serve.[8]

Back in 2018, an article published by Money and Life said that the FPA supports the phasing out of grandfathered commissions, provided the following five principles were met:

1.      The change is in the clients’ best interest and no client will be worse off;

2.      Commission payments are refunded to clients and not retained by the product provider;

3.      Tax relief is provided for any adverse tax consequences;

4.      Centrelink benefits are protected from any adverse consequences; and

5.      Exit fees be banned in line with the Government's 2018/19 Budget proposal on both super and investment products”.[9]

In the same article CEO of the FPA, Dante De Gori, said that the FPA's stance is after a three-year transition period the grandfathering of commissions should be subject to the FoFA (Future of Financial Advice) provisions.[9]

In 2022 it was announced that the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) and FPA were entering into a period of member consultation to explore the potential of a merger.[10] The boards of both associations agreed that a merger is in the best interests of the profession to create 'a united voice.'[11] The merger will go to a member vote in 2023.[11]

In November 2017, the FPA published a report titled “Mapping Fintech to the Financial Planning Process: Why fintech is not a threat."[12] 'The Fintech White Paper,' as it is commonly referred to, was introduced at the FPA Annual Professionals Congress 2017.[12] The white paper was discussed by FinancialMappers to explore the challenges and opportunities that fintech products offer to the financial planning industry.[12]

FPA Four Pillars Policy

FPA logo

The FPA published a report titled “The Four Pillars Policy”.[14] It is written in an interview style featuring the CEO of the FPA. According to the report, the key elements of the Four Pillars Policy are; 1. Public Interest, 2. Professional Practitioner, 3. Government and Regulatory and 4. Code of Professional Practice.[14] FPA CEO, Dante De Gori, was quoted saying that The Four Policy Pillars process is a transparent framework whereby all member practitioners and key stakeholders can help shape existing and future FPA policy.[14]

The FPA Congress 2018 placed attention on technology, the association also announced an app and launched the fintech buyers guide.[15]

There were several topics discussed at the congress held in November 2018, these include:

The 2019 Financial Planning Association Congress was held on 27–29 November at the Melbourne Convention Exhibition Centre.[4] The first speaker for the congress was announced to be Mitch Anthony who is the founder and president of Adviser Insights Inc.[4]

The financial adviser standards and ethics authority was founded by the government of Australia after the then Financial Services Minister Kelly Dwyer revealed and informed the public of reforms intended to raise the standards required for financial advisers.[20] The purpose of the financial adviser standards and ethics authority according to an article by Professional Planner is to be “a body that would be responsible for determining exactly what a professional adviser looks like”.[20] Its board members were picked based on their academia, ethics and advice.[20] In an article written by Professional Planner, the FPA released a white paper in response to the formation of FASEA, within the white paper they recommended that a 100-point system be adopted to help differentiate between degrees that are required and those that are irrelevant.[20]

At the FPA professionals congress in November 2018, an article published by Money Management reported that the Financial Planning Association of Australia's head of policy and standards Ben Marshan announced that the association will assist FASEA when it concerns the transitional standards that they are to impose.[21] In the article by Money Management it was also revealed that the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority chief executive Stephen Glenfield had during the professional congress mentioned that “he believed there were 150 programs provided for in the draft legislative instrument”.[21]

The Professional Planner published an article in December 2018, which discussed that the FPA had signed a co-operation agreement with the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA), Boutique Financial Planners (BFA), the Financial Services Institute of Australasia (FINISA), the Self-managed Superannuation Fund Association (SMSF Association) and the Stockbrokers and Financial Advisers Association (SAFAA).[22] SAFAA chief executive was quoted in the article saying that the alliance “provides [advisers] with the lowest unit-cost solution… while giving clients the best possible protection”, and the FPA's chief executive said that “the co-operation agreement would allow the profession to gain control of the process.”[22]