sarah abood

Advisers can practice without a relevant degree for around 30 years according to the draft proposal. They do need a clean record, however – but only up to the end of 2021.

The new association will be branded with its key purpose – providing a unified voice representing advisers – reflected in speech bubbles over the ‘A’s in its name.

Michelle Levy said she was ‘puzzled’ by the government’s decision to conduct a consultation on the proposals handed down in the advice review, while industry leaders urged for the adoption of her reform suite.

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.

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.

Review leader Michelle Levy said the proposals need to look at the “full universe” of providers. If ‘good advice’ is to replace best interests duty while also opening the gates to product providers, the duties involved will need to fully match the breadth of that task.

CEOs at the soon-to-merge associations say the two groups have become more aligned over the years. AFA members are no longer die-hard ‘riskies’, and the FPA membership base has come a long way from its institutional adviser roots.

Prompted by advice industry rationalisation, the Levy review and the need for a united voice in Canberra, the two major associations will invite members to provide feedback on a proposed merger.