It doesn’t matter whether funds mislead investors with intent or not, and it doesn’t matter if other parties were partly to blame. The authorities have had enough of the excuses, and they’re lobbing record fines at transgressors.
The entrenched position of the banks and miners in the ASX 200 doesn’t necessarily correlate to inherent growth potential, especially with the issues both sectors face into. For investors, it may be worth considering an alternative path broad market exposure.
FAAA highlights ‘professional delta’ between CFP and non-CFP advisers
The Financial Planning Association of Australia has put metrics behind the additional client value that is attributable to being a Certified Financial Planner, with the designation linked to increased satisfaction levels in key areas according to a new report.
The FAAA’s 2024 Value of Advice Report, which provides a Value of Advice Index that compared perceived client experience across CFP and non-CFP advisers, showed advisers who had completed the designation received higher index scores across the board than non-CFP advisers.
In the ‘Quality of Life’ category, for example, CFP advised clients reported an average index score of 77 compared to 71 for non-CFP advisers.
In the ‘Financial Confidence’ and ‘Financial Satisfaction’ categories, CFP advised clients reported higher index scores by five (75 versus 70) and six (75 versus 69) points respectively.
The largest delta was recorded in the adviser ‘Experience’ category, whereby CFP advised clients scored 84 while non-CFP clients put up a score of 74.
“Financial advice clients experience a higher quality of life, greater financial confidence, and more financial satisfaction than those who are unadvised,” the report states. “The study also found that CFP professionals rate their personal experience even higher than those who work with other financial service professionals.”
The CFP designation involves meeting requirements set by the CFP Board of Standards, which includes formal education, work experience, demonstrable professional ethics and performance across three 2-hour CFP exams. Advisers must pay to apply for the CFP designation, and then pay a yearly fee to maintain it. The CFP program is run by the FAAA in Australia.
Speaking to media at a launch of the report, FAAA chair and Perth adviser David Sharpe said the “professional delta” between CFP and non-CFP data had become clear, with the designation providing “an additional step up”.
“It isn’t really a surprise,” Sharpe said. “CFPs go through significant extra study, it’s blood, sweat and tears I can tell you. It’s nearly two decades since I went through it and when I’m talking to recent CFP graduates, that’s something that still plays out.
“That professional commitment to get the gold standard of national advice is being laid [out] there as well in that index,” Sharpe continued. “So, we’re really proud of that.”
