[The Wrap] A tax tidbit; time to support CFPs and CLUs

Tax is the topic of the week, but as everyone else has plenty to say on that subject, professional development, Level Five and adviser education gets an airing today.

Friday, February 22nd 2019, 7:48PM

The topic of the week has to be capital gains tax, but it's only getting a small mention in this week's wrap. There will be lots of debate from now until the election. Some of it will be informed; much of it will be hyperbole with emotive language.

We are already seeing this.

My take is that the TWG proposals will be at the extreme end of the spectrum and over time they will be watered down by the government. Labour has made this an election issue. As no party wants to be a one-term government they will be listening carefully to the electorate and will tailor the final package into something which is more palatable to a wider audience.

If I had to make another prediction, it would be that the ones who have the most to fear are property investors. However, as the large majority of these people are buy-and-hold types, they are probably not overly concerned.

The ones who are trading are already subject to additional tax.

We will continue to follow what's happening, particularly in the areas of interest to Good Returns readers.

TIME TO UPSKILL

Professional development and continuing education is one of the topics which is high on advisers' minds at the moment. Especially those RFAs who will have to complete Level Five papers under the proposed adviser law changes.

Many, especially the old timers, have grizzled and complained about this.

But this week the government announced that that home-based carers will need early childhood education qualifications at Level Four papers. I haven't heard too much complaining here (albeit I am not well-connected in this sector).

If people in childcare centres have to do Level Four, a step up to the next level for advisers isn't too much of an ask.

What has been good to see is that more and more of the dealer groups are working proactively to assist members upskill.

Sticking with this theme one of the little stories that piqued my interest this week was an update on CFP numbers worldwide. [You can read it here]

New Zealand is very much a laggard in this area with just 285 CFP licence holders. By my maths that's about 15% of AFAs.

What I don't understand is why New Zealand doesn't embrace CFP and CLU designations and use those as pinnacle marks for advisers to aim for. (If investment people want to go further they can do a CFA - however that is a big leap). They are international. They exist already.

Why we need a new designation like the proposed QSM is something which is hard to fathom.

Many advisers have only kept up association membership over the years to keep their CFP. This is understandable after doing the work to achieve it. Surely, Financial Advice NZ, as the CFP licensee in New Zealand should reward them with some promotional work?

Tags: Opinion