AFA urges advisers to embrace change

During the AFA 2016 National Adviser Conference in Canberra yesterday, Mr Fox talked about the meaning behind the theme of this year’s event, ‘Adaptive Change’.

He said while there are many “forces affecting your world” – including the life insurance and education reforms – advisers must learn how to come together and adjust to these changes.

“‘Adaptive Change’ begins with a positive mindset. It begins with an honesty of recognising what has changed around you and what the forces are that are causing that,” Mr Fox said.

“It’s also about recognising that you can't stop some of these forces. They're outside of your control…You can't stay in the old paradigm. It won't work for much longer.

“The solution is collaborating amongst your peers and experimenting.”

The changes in the industry will also see the AFA begin observing its member advisers more closely, said Samantha Clarke, AFA general manager of policy and professionalism.

As part of the proposed adviser education reforms, the AFA will become a code monitoring and enforcement body.

“We're reactive at the moment to complaints and concerns, so we're going to become more proactive,” Ms Clarke told the conference.

“In terms of code enforcement, monitoring, auditing – we're going to get even closer to your practices.”