'Outrageous' LIF attacks must stop, says dealer group

In an open letter to advisers, Sentry Group chief executive Murray Hills said he is concerned that continued infighting will provide “more grist to the mill” to be used against all advisers by lawmakers and the corporate regulator.

“I am very strongly against public disunity in the industry, particularly when it involves an opportunistic attack and outrageous statements by some individuals and other organisations on the AFA and the FPA,” Mr Hills said.

While the Life Insurance Customer Group’s right to have a different opinion from other industry organisations is perfectly understandable, its public turning upon the AFA has seriously detracted from the merits of their case, he said.

Mr Hills added that it reflects adversely on the integrity of both organisations and the financial services profession as a whole.

“No reasonable person can attack solely on the AFA and wonder why the initiator does not apply the same logic and tactic against the FPA – unfortunately it can only be interpreted as a personality clash,” Mr Hills said.

“In my view the AFA and the FPA are the only formally constituted and properly structured industry associations with a long history over many years of representing advisers and lifting the educational and ethical standards of their members that have stood the test of time.

“They will still be around when others with short-term goals are gone and will then have to recover unnecessary lost credibility and rebuild the reputation of their members in particular and the industry in general,” he said.

Adrian Flores

Adrian Flores is a deputy editor at Momentum Media, focusing mainly on banking, wealth management and financial services. He has also written for Public Accountant, Accountants Daily and The CEO Magazine.

You can contact him on [email protected].