The demise of the small business advice practice

Well said. Thanks for speaking up Don.

Well said Don as now one of the (Synchron)Advisers how has left the industries that I loved because of the unfair pressure and unreasonable demands on education

Well said don. It seems strange that everyone who works in our industry knows the truth. The regulators, politicians and many of the ceos who were, and some still are , in senior positions colluded via the fsc to achieve an outcome for there shareholders , at the expense of both consumers and financial planners.

Great work Don. Love your work!

Great article Don...but my question is how could this be allowed to happen and why aren't the people responsible for it being held accountable for the carnage its caused the broader market, advisers and the industry? And politicians, who used to stand for free enterprise also need to answer some serious questions!

Great stuff Don. It's great to have Synchron at least parade actual facts. Which is something ASIC, lollies, fasea...all struggle with

It was the argument at the time, and if I recall correctly, that one insurer did provide "evidence" of churn, only to have it demonstrated they had included DEATH CLAIMS in their statistics!! Oh goodness - people should maintain their insurance after they are dead! That is obviously the adviser's fault too!

Thank you again Don for stepping up and speaking out for advisers everywhere!

Why was this allowed to happen? What do our industry bodies do, other than organise golf days,, irrelevant functions and a financial planning week NO ONE in the public is aware of? Take a look at the mortgage broking industry..... the RC also was to effect them, their industry body acted IMMEDIATELY, and they will not be touched.

And advisers are living by "the best interests duty"...?.

We are but pawns bringing in the money to a treacherous parent....

where is the grunt of our industry associations, or are they paper tigers, pandering to those questionable fasea folk ( who now offer advisers their own specially designed courses to educate us to being good people) , the government and its ignorant ministers and bureacrats and last but not least the institutions and their money hungry boards who are happy to bite the hands that feed them.....

shame on them all

Thank you for your very responsible and articulate piece Don. By the time the regulators and the government wake up and look around at the carnage they have created, it will be too late to remedy the position. Who'll get the blame then? Why, those lazy financial advisers who have been around for so long getting fat (not) on those high commissions, and who can't be bothered doing yet more useless study and exams. Like me for instance. By then I won't care what they say, but I will still be suffering angst when I think of all my clients who won't be able to afford good advice and who will be left to the wolves in sheep's clothing, aka banks and other financial institutions. The media also have a lot to answer for. Jumping on the bandwagon of lies so they can grow fat on their advertising revenue. Conflicts of interest? Everywhere you look.

Thank you Don.

100% correct on all accounts.

Appreciate your bravery and raising the obvious and explaining it in terms that regulators should be able to understand.....as such...let's hope they fix things before the industry and advisers die a slow painful.death....of course ....after which changes will be made...and hopefully not too late.

Why is it that this industry and regulators cannot get their heads around incentive based remuneration and simply design it to support the desired outcome.

So, if the object is to get people approriately covered and for that cover to remain in force, why not remove upfront commission and replace it with a trailing commission based on the policy remaining in force.

Advisers needing cash flow support while building a book could and institutions should support reasonable borrowing against the future book revenue. If in force revenue declines the loan must be reduced and in the event of default the ongoing revenue is applied to clearance.

This could easily be designed as a relatively low risk process which rewards those who professionally and diligently get people covered and keep them covered. Commission in not a dirty word it is just results based remuneration.

We have to ask 'where have the (so-called) professional associations been throughout the savage attack on financial advisers over the past 10 or more years'?

The answer is 'Being diplomatic' and cosying up to all and sundry government bodies and the big end of town, rather than doing what they were being paid (handsomely) for; that is to go in to bat for advisers and lock horns with the 'opposing forces' and refuse to admit defeat.

They have failed utterly. They have not represented the interests of their adviser-members, and by association the greater Australian public. The evidence is the disastrous state of the entire financial services profession and the entire regulatory regime.

Great article Don. What i don't undertand is why Abbott did not ppuit his foot on it right from the start when he won the election instead of putting an ineffective minister in place. This whole thing began with julia's govt. The AFA and the FPA HAVE BEEN AS USELESS AS a creame donut in the sun. It is time to give the UFAA FULL SUPORT BY EVERY ONE.

Thank You Don,

This is a Culling exercise by the Govt, the real Losers are the Clients & Experienced advisers being driven out of the Industry, the Loss of Experience will also simply drive consumers into Low quality Direct Products without a meaningful trusted adviser guiding them through Lifes Journey.

The Final Nail is the revised version of FASEA Standard 3 which is an absolute disgrace !

All this is simply playing into the Regulators hands and to the the Big Banks & Industry Funds who are totally Conflicted in my View.

This is a real Shame for All Existing & New advisers Post 1 Jan 2020.

Its true small business people work very long hours to grow their businesses. That too has been my experience over the past 28 years. Now when I could be retired and collecting the Age Pension I am returning to Uni studies so that I can continue doing what I love, looking after my client base which I have worked so hard to grow and maintain.

I can't understand why the FSC, our politicians, the FPA and AFA have decimated our industry. They have a lot to answer for.

This week I wrote a small life insurance policy for an existing client, total time estimated for our meetings, my travel, writing the SOA and implementation, follow up and accounting for any unexpected changes is 12 hours. Commission was $520, so essentially I am working for $43 per hour and then if the policy lapses through no fault of my own, I have worked for zero. For this reason, Financial planners are turning away from writing small policies which are essential for protecting the financial situation of low income people.

During the Royal Commission, I observed that the Commissioner did not really believe in life insurance. On the contrary, my experience over the years is that the claims paid out to my clients have made a huge difference to their well being and financial situation.

I believe all young people should have Life & TPD with their super which is so low cost it seems ridiculous that they don't have it, especially with a low super balance as the insurance attached makes a small super policy valuable.

As a small financial planning business owner, I am hoping to remain viable but the road ahead will not be easy and I certainly do not have time or money to attend expensive conferences.