Royal commission a ‘witch hunt’, says practice principal

In an article published on the practice’s website, Adapt Wealth Management owner Reuben Zelwer said the royal commission will be “a complete waste of time and money”, and described the commission as a "witch hunt".

According to Mr Zelwer, “nobody wants this royal commission” and the end result will be a disappointment.

“The government doesn't want it (they were dragged kicking and screaming), the banks don't want it (even though they ended up caving in because they felt they [had] no choice), and the opposition doesn't want it because they say it's not broad enough,” he said. “No one's going to be happy with the outcome.”

Additionally, Mr Zelwer said the royal commission could further harm confidence in the system and make clients “a lot more suspicious”, despite a majority of people not having issues with it.

Clients who have received bad advice are also likely to receive a “false hope” from the commission, Mr Zelwer said.

“It is not going to provide redress for individual cases. They're going to look at the system in general – sure, they will interview people who got bad advice but they will not make judgements regarding financial compensation, so people will be disappointed,” he said.

The commission will, however, be “great for the lawyers”, Mr Zelwer noted.

Mr Zelwer is an authorised representative of Hub 24-aligned dealer group Paragem.