Is ASIC to blame for Australians being reluctant to seek financial advice?

Appearing at the 2021 Adviser Innovation Summit on Tuesday (9 November), Audere founder Stewart Bell was asked during a Q&A if he believes ASIC should wear some responsibility in the fact that only 15 per cent of Australians seek financial advice.

Mr Bell responded by saying a combination of legislation and bad advice has hindered the sector but said that what is coming is “way more positive” than what has come in the past.

“In truth, we went through a period where some of the issues, though magnified, were to do with the way advice wasn’t being provided right,” Mr Bell said.

“You could argue whether the legislation that’s been put through has necessarily changed things. I personally think there’s a lot of stuff in there which doesn’t necessarily fulfill a purpose.

“But for me, it’s just not about who’s responsible and it’s not about the imperfections of the past. I truly believe that right here and now, we stand on a bit of a cusp. The media, the perception of advice has changed, the demand is continuing to grow, technology’s starting to come about, we’re going to start to see some of the repeal of the bureaucracy.”

Mr Bell’s comments come as ASIC gears up for its new responsibilities of the recently passed Better Advice Bill that will see the financial services and credit panel within ASIC become the single disciplinary body for advisers from 1 January 2022.

The legislation will also see the removal of the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) as an advice regulator and that FASEA be wound up, with its responsibilities to be given to Treasury and ASIC.

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.