ASIC releases more details on upcoming DDO obligations

Set to start from 5 October, the corporate regulator said the DDOs “aim to assist consumers to obtain appropriate products by requiring firms to design financial products to meet the needs of consumers, and to distribute their products in a more targeted manner”.

In an information sheet released on Friday, ASIC confirmed that licensees and advisers have obligations to reporting and record keeping, a point contested by the Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA) this week.

“ASIC may request records from advice licensees and financial advisers to monitor compliance with the law,” ASIC said on Friday.

“Good record keeping is likely to assist in demonstrating that advice licensees and financial advisers have taken the necessary steps to comply with the obligations.”

On Thursday, despite praising the removal of the requirement for financial advisers to report “nil complaints” to product issuers, the FPA called on ASIC to remove formal reporting periods, calling it “unnecessary and unworkable”.

“There is an opportunity for ASIC to create an alignment between dispute resolution and TMD reporting to remove further layers of unnecessary regulatory burden, duplication and costs on our members and the profession,” FPA’s head of policy, strategy and innovation, Ben Marshan, said.

Read more about the information sheet here.

Neil Griffiths

Neil is the Deputy Editor of the wealth titles, including ifa and InvestorDaily.

Neil is also the host of the ifa show podcast.