AIOFP seeks bipartisan support for reform agenda

In a message to the Association of Independently Owned Financial Professionals (AIOFP) members, executive director Peter Johnston said the association is hoping to get bipartisan approval across five key issues leading into the 2025 election.

At the top of the list is abolishing consent, FDS and annual opt-in forms. The AIOFP is also seeking the ability for advisers to use professional judgement on the size and content of a compulsory financial advice document to clients; FASEA exam content to be relevant and specific to an adviser’s skills; the ASIC levy to be assessed by an independent party and advice fees to be tax deductible; and for risk commission conditions to be returned to pre-LIF levels.

According to Mr Johnston, with both Financial Services Minister Stephen Jones and shadow treasurer Angus Taylor agreeing to address AIOFP members at the conference, it is a perfect time to push the message.

Part of the bipartisan impetus from the AIOFP is thanks to “advice community threats and adversaries” having departed the space.

“Like any past battle or feud, we must know who our enemies have been, assess whether they are still a threat and if so, put strategies in place to neutralise or combat them,” Mr Johnston said.

“We think there is some great news evolving for the advice community going forward and encourage any adviser contemplating exiting the industry due to the past nightmare conditions to rethink their strategy.”

Detailing the history of changes, from FOFA to LIF, FASEA, compliance issues and the grandfathering ban, Mr Johnston said they were “designed to starve, frustrate and intimidate advisers out of the industry”.

“Unfortunately, very few government initiatives have worked as ruthlessly well as this particular program,” he said.

“This was not a Canberra bureaucratic play; it was a clinically and surgically delivered initiative by a ruthless team seconded from the financial services industry with a clear intent to remove advisers from the client relationship and the industry – they knew where to place the knife and twist it.

“The good news for the advice community is most of these past adversaries have departed the industry and are no longer a direct threat.”

Pointing specifically to former treasurer Josh Frydenberg and his chief of staff Martin Codina, along with former ministers Kelly O’Dwyer and Jane Hume, who have all now either left politics or moved out of the Treasury portfolio, Mr Johnston said “successive Coalition governments from late 2013 clearly had an agenda to ‘cull’ advisers under an authoritarian regime”.

“Current Treasury spokesperson Angus Taylor was not linked to the circumstances at any point,” he added.