Stockbrokers and Investment Advisers Association (SIAA) welcomes the government’s release today of the Bill introducing the experienced pathway for financial advisers.
SIAA has been advocating for certainty that the experienced pathway was going to be implemented and commends the Minister for recognising the urgency of the situation.
“Firms, stockbrokers and investment advisers are making plans now in relation to exiting the profession,” said Judith Fox, SIAA CEO. “A further exodus of experienced advisers was on the cards without draft legislation confirming the experienced pathway,” she noted.
“At a time when the advice gap is recognised, losing more experienced advisers makes no sense and it is to the government’s credit that they have acted to prevent additional loss of expertise.”
SIAA noted that experienced stockbrokers and investment advisers put their education on hold when the Labor Government was elected in May 2022, in light of the Minister’s election commitment to introduce an experienced pathway. The FASEA education regime — still in place — failed to approve or recognise the education qualifications of those in the stockbroking and investment advice profession.
“The release of the draft legislation setting out the form of the 10-year experienced pathway for advisers provides the much-needed certainty they have been seeking,” Ms Fox said. “They know that their education qualifications and wealth of experience are being recognised and their clients will retain their advice services.”
SIAA was also pleased to see that SIAA’s recommendation about the cut-off date has been taken up by the government. We recommended in our submission to the September 2022 consultation that the cut-off date should be extended from 1 January 2019 to 1 January 2021 to capture the experience of those advisers who provided stockbroking and investment advice during the period of market volatility caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which also provided lived experience in volatile economic conditions. This is now reflected in the draft legislation.
Contact:
Judith Fox, CEO
0408 667 246
A history of stockbrokers in Australia — good fame and character requirements in place since 1887