Planners in commission's sights

A review of the investment advisory industry is high on the Securities Commission's work list in the financial year which has just started.

Tuesday, July 4th 2000, 12:00AM

by Philip Macalister

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The Securities Commission has placed a review of the financial planning industry near the top of its work list for its financial year which started on July 1.

Commission chief executive John Farrell says there are a number of concerns including disclosure and regulation.

Farrell expresses a personal view that the current two-tied disclosure system isn't very effective. Also he echoes the musings of commission chairman Euan Abernethy that there needs to be greater control over the broader advisory industry. (Read his earlier comments here).

On disclosure Farrell says: "I don't think it's working particularly well. (The law) needs to be put under the microscope."

He says the two tied structure of disclosure is too complicated. Instead of having one lot of information which has to be disclosed and another lot of information which only has to be disclosed if the client asks for it, there should just be one set of up front disclosure, he says.

Besides disclosure the commission is also interested in exerting greater control over advisers.

One option being mulled over is giving the commission power to ban shonky advisers from operating. Currently the commission can ban products if they don't comply with the law, however it has little control over the people who sell these investments.

The concerns raised by the commission relate more to people promoting things like prime bank instruments, as opposed to mainstream managed fund products and the like.

Meanwhile, an industry working group set up by the Investment Savings and Insurance Association and headed by American International Assurance general manager David Whyte had its first meeting recently.

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