Industry

After years of declining membership bases and growing frustration with disparate representation, 96.5 per cent of AFA members and 96.7 per cent of FPA members voted in favour of a merger between the two groups.

Superannuation tax breaks will cost the government nearly $53 billion this year, nearly matching the cost of the entire age pension program, according to a new analysis that says major reform is needed. Meanwhile, the government has signalled a tightening of super legislation.

Levy made no major deviations in her final suite of proposals, with Treasury left to mull on a blueprint for reform that should usher in a less prescriptive, two-tiered advice regime. But there are a few tweaks that might raise eyebrows.

The old guard of advice representation has implored the combined membership groups of the AFA and FPA to vote ‘yes’ in the upcoming merger vote.

“I don’t think anyone told me that things are going well,” said Michelle Levy of the advice review consultation process. Despite being given disparate views on how to fix things, the lawyer believes compromise was never an option.

In a letter released by the group Thursday it said “urgent action is needed”, and called the government’s impending response a “rare opportunity to deliver affordable and accessible advice to consumers”.

The green shoots that emerged for adviser numbers in the back half of 2022 were no fluke, with provisional advisers leading an industry resurgence after five years of decline.

Studies highlight just how much the benefit of financial advice is filtering into the public consciousness. After the pandemic, and with inflation soaring, the emotional upside of financial guidance is finally becoming clear.

The percentage of paraplanners that have ambitions to become qualified financial advisers has decreased dramatically, with several key drivers behind the change.

Advisers are rallying around the prospect of upfront advice fees becoming tax deductible after the ATO announced a review of Tax Determination 95/60.

The release of Michelle Levy’s preliminary advice review recommendations topped this year’s most read stories, yet the proliferation of well-read articles that carried an investment theme highlighted the interest of advisers in finding content evaluating what has been a choppy year in markets.

The Financial Services Council and its provider members are putting their weight behind the advice review leader’s suite of reforms as the December 16 delivery date looms.