Is your “Financial Planner” really a “Financial Planner”?

In the past, individuals could complete a shot-gun course and call themselves a “financial planner/adviser”, and there was no law to stop anyone doing this.

The new draft legislation states that individuals must be licenced and authorised to provide personal financial advice, such as an authorised representative or representative of an Australian Financial Services (AFS) Licensee holder, before being legally permitted to use the term “financial planner” or “financial adviser”.

Hewison Private Wealth welcomes the news as it provides greater protection for consumers. However, the change does not affect Hewisons, as we already uphold high standards for our Private Client Advisers. Our advisers must hold an undergraduate university degree along with being awarded the internationally recognised Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation, widely recognised as the leading qualification for financial planners.

This is great news for the consumer and provides protection against less competent advisers providing bad advice. It is another step for the industry to move towards becoming a highly respected profession.

Let’s hope we continue to see positive changes in the future so that many more Australians can receive high quality advice that helps them build and protect their wealth.