Consumers' Institute head David Russell accepts that the recent Consumer survey of financial advisers wasn't perfect, but he considers the broad thrust of it to be correct.
Speaking at the IPAC Securities conference on Friday, Russell warned the industry it needed to be squeaky clean if it want to be credible.
"It only takes a few bad eggs within a new and developing industry for it to get a bad name," he said.
"Quite frankly there are too many shonky investments being peddled by fast-buck salesmen."
He said the industry needed to get rid of "some of the bad hats which are around" if it wants to build up credibility.
He told delegates they needed to decide whether they are selling a service or just products.
"The two tend to become mixed up."
Russell said the Consumer article was a snapshot of the industry, not a comprehensive survey. He also agreed there were omissions, such as determining if the person offering advice held a CFP or some other designation.
At the conference Russell also pointed a finger at the Government saying it had abdicated responsibility for providing investors with some form of protection.
While he did not call for regulation, he said the Government needed to play a role in helping investors.
Russell said the survey was a warning that the industry was under scrutiny and Consumer would be repeating the exercise.
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Consumers' Institute head David Russell accepts that the recent Consumer survey of financial advisers wasn't perfect, but he considers the broad thrust of it to be correct.