'We have not given up': Industry group to call on Jones for exam extension

The Association of Independently Owned Financial Professionals (AIOFP) will push again for an extension on the financial adviser exam when it meets with financial services minister Stephen Jones in Canberra next week.

In a statement this week, AIOFP executive director Peter Johnston said "we have not given up" on seeking the exam extension and amendments with Mr Jones.

"With the ridiculous past degree issue countered by the 10-year rule thanks to Minister Jones, the big current issue is the exam October 1st ‘cliff’ date. The less-than-four-week time frame between when the results of the ‘last chance’ exam are released by ASIC and the ‘cliff date’ is totally unreasonable for unsuccessful advisers to sell/transition their business," Mr Johnston said.

"If the exam format changes post October 1st for new entrants, why can’t current advisers that failed be given the same opportunity?"

It comes after Mr Jones announced earlier this month that a consultation paper will be developed on education standards and the adviser exam.

Mr Jones said the government would look at options to "streamline the education requirements for financial advisers" and addressed the 30 September deadline for existing advisers to pass the exam and continue to provide financial advice, saying that following the deadline, he will ask Treasury to explore how the exam can be improved, such as reducing the number of questions.

Mr Johnston argued that the current exam format "was purposely structured to confuse and intimidate advisers out of the industry" and has negatively impacted future tertiary students considering financial advice as a career.

"We think 10-year plus experienced advisers who have left the industry in the recent past should be given an amnesty period to sit for a newly revised exam to re-enter the industry and not be subject to the new entrant rules," he said.

Speaking to ifa following the consultation paper announcement, Mr Johnston said that while the AIOFP welcomed the news, it was "naturally disappointed" that Mr Jones did not defer the exam until after the 1 October "cliff" date to restructure it.

"We were hoping for a 12-month deferral of the exam, a removal of the ambiguous ethics content, and inclusion of questions around competency of their advice specialty," Mr Johnston told ifa.

"To be fair, the minister did not specifically promise any exam changes, but we will however continue with our lobbying activities until October 1st in hope of a change of mind."

Meanwhile, ASIC has since confirmed that the results of the latest exam sittings will be made available in the first week of September, which will give advisers who failed the exam less than four weeks to decide on their next course of action.

Mr Johnston said that the AIOFP is urging those waiting to "commence these preparations".

"We are requesting that anyone buying practices over the next six weeks to be compassionate and fair with the terms and conditions, in many cases this will be a person’s lifetime work and needs to be treated with respect," he said.

"We have already had enough mental health problems, stress and suicides over recent years and want no more. It will be a good time to check on those who fail the exam to see how they are coping once the results are out."

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.