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Less than 50 people hardly ground breaking news 

Spot on Swanny 
And tie it in with ALP's Chris Bowen & Jimmy Chalmers trying to flog Green Bonds to back all these annuities in mythically priced and tax payer funded Green energy projects. 

Can't wait for ISA members who had no idea they were locked into these Industry Super Annuities for Life when they call up and want some capital. 
Hello AFCA.  

DBFO Tranche 2 is an unmitigated disgrace.
Did we ever find out who thought up the term "qualified adviser" ? They should be in gaol

what a load of nonsense - the exact same outcome would have occured if the union was not involved. The CEO clarified the intent of the contract wording as stated in the article. Thanks for doing nought, FSU!

look out industry fund royal commission...

reason?

The advisers in my firm have all received individual calls from the AWARE Super BDM. The call was a targeted marketing call wanted to get a understanding of total platform FUM and how AWARE can offer support to transition the FUM to AWARE Super. 

The key line in the conversation - "Importantly you can charge advice fees via the adviser portal"

Congrats Stephen, you nearly achieved the quick wins this term of Government. Surely you ahve left enough for the Union Super funds to guarantee your future beyond politics.

Momentum - This has the momentum of Flash, the Sloth in Zootopia.

This draft legislation does two things:
1. Changes the name of the Statement of Advice into a Client Advice Record. Once again Treasury confuses things - Is a CAR a Client Advice Record or is a CAR a Corporate Authorised Representative? 

2. Makes it easier for union super funds to funnel their members into their products without having to adhere to the best interest duty, take personal situations into account, nor provide a SOA or CAR. Also makes it easier to lock them into that fund for life, regardless of whether that is in the clients best interest or not.

Not surpised though.

Remember the question was asked as to who came up with the name " Qualified Adviser " ???
No answer, no names, no response, no care, no responsibility.
Of course Jones' wants a new " class " of adviser shoehorned into place as quick as possible because the Trade Union movement & Industry Super would have demanded he did so.
And when your boss and your master tells you to do something....well........  

Why the hell are we taking any notice of anything Jones says. He's leaving, bolting out the door, having  just thrown a hand grenade into the room and closed the door, after having sat on a chair outside the room for three years

Anything he says to IFA has to be taken with a very large grain of salt and the question being asked "who exactly is he addressing with these comments"

It is possible, but probably not likely, that the next labor Minister for financial services may not be as sympathetic to the industry funds as the departing incumbent. The next minister would  not be the first Minister to come to a portfolio with a different approach,  in any government, of any party. They all have egos and those egos sometimes get in the way.

Some may even be able to counter the bias against advisers that emanates from Treasury

And anyone who can predict what Mr Howarth will do must believe in a mirracle a day

Now thats a very interesting point

It also makes sense in the context that LIF was dreamt up by the big four banks who were looking to sell their life offices and achieved the enthusiastic endorsement from the bank-controlled FSC. There were no suitable buyers within Australia and they had to appeal to overseas insurers. What better way to sell your damaged old rubbish business to a prospective buyer than to be able to say "we've just convinced the government to halve your distribution costs after you purchase our old life insurer".

It would be akin to a situation where someeone selling an old car would to be able to say to the prospective buyer "I've done a deal for you mate, and your insurance and registration costs will be halved.

The banks have always been the smartest operators in the room. They used the failed ASIC Report 413 to convince ASIC that it would be a good idea to halve commissions payable to those nasty dirty life insurance advisors. LIF appealed to ASIC's long-standing anti-commission bias.

And the fact that it wasn't legislated was even better. ASIC won on all counts

And, as usual, ASIC and the government were warned by the practitioners at the front and completely ignored the advice. What would advisers know? 

Five years on we have a life insurance industry under threat from market failure. A drop in 60% of genuine new business into the life insurance pools has generated "gouging " on legacy products and the introduction of the obnoxious and understated Duration Based Pricing

You couldn't script this rubbish!

Well, ASIC was all against this during the RC if I remember correctly - and had lots of reasons as did Treasury?

Now that the Bank and AMP etc are out of the game so to speak, seems it is all coming back?

Feels like an agenda?

This is not the policy of Stephen Jones, this is the policy of the unions. The unions who control Stephen Jones, the Labor Party, and most importantly "Industry" super funds.

Alright, let’s have a look at this “policy intent” that “will not change,” shall we? The ALP’s been hell-bent from the start on handing their industry super “allies” and funders a free pass into the financial advice game—lowering the bar so damn far it’s basically a trip hazard. Under the shiny banner of “access and affordability,” they tried to ram through the NCA, a cheap “adviser-lite” creature meant to pick up the phone and “advise” customers straight into industry super annuities. That was always the plan, but Jones couldn’t drag it across the finish line, much to the dismay of his SMC lobbyists.

So, as he’s halfway out the door, Jones lobs the “advice through superannuation” grenade—letting industry super dust off the old trail commission playbook, now rebranded as a “collective charge,” to bankroll “free advice” for all. They will be "nudging" customers to ring up about those special “annuity solutions.” Industry super’s on a war path to defend the outflows they’re losing to proper independent advisers, and this “free advice” move is their most direct shortcut yet.

And why’d Jones drop the exposure draft just as caretaker mode kicks in? It’s a signal to industry super: “Don’t worry, lads, the ALP’s still your mate.” They’re banking on those deep pockets and loud voices to prop them up in the election, dangling this succulent policy as incentive. Meanwhile, independent financial advisers are stuck in the trenches, slugging it out against this cosy public-private ALP-industry super stitch-up.

Policy intent won't change.  Lack of meaningful implementation won't change.  The current hot mess won't change.  The bias to industry funds demands won't change.  The lack of access to quality advice won't change.  The high cost of obtaining quality advice won't change.  Maybe a change in government might drive some change.

However, speaking on an FSC post-budget webinar, Financial Services Minister Stephen Jones explained that part of the impetus in releasing the draft so close to an election being called was to make sure DBFO didn’t “lose momentum”.

I think this is Jones trying to salvage his reputation/track record. It's ridiculous to think (assuming Labour win) that the minister replacing him won't want to stamp their voice/POV on any legislation they always do, meaning more delays more changes - not buying a word of it Mr. Jones!

“I can categorically state that this is not some back door attempt to have new class of advisers providing a full range of comprehensive advice on all things financial. That was never the intent. It wasn't what we announced, and it's not what we intend to do,” he said.

Question: Then why'd ya leave the backdoor open to it Jonesy? Don't take us for mugs.

Collective charging IS fee for no service - and I use the word "service" lightly. What it really is is fee for vertically integrated product sales by industry super funds. 

An appalling affront against young working families of industry super funds who will be charged as members for the advice received by older members at retirement age.

Disgusting.

It's fee for no  service.
Where is ASIC on this ????

Smaller practices have had a gutful of SMA spruikers.

One important and little understood piece of the puzzle is that the former Government did not actually legislate the specific LIF caps. Instead they authorised ASIC to set the caps. If the Government directed ASIC to change the LIF caps, that could all happen without the need for legislative change, including the need to push this through the parliament where it might be opposed by those who have an ideologic dislike of commissions.