FPSB APPLAUDS REGULATORY EFFORTS TO SUPPORT PROFESSIONAL BODY OVERSIGHT OF FINANCIAL PLANNERS IN AUSTRALIA

DENVER, CO – 2 April 2012 – Financial Planning Standards Board Ltd. (FPSB), owner of the CFP, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER and CFP logo marks outside the United States, welcomed moves by Australian government and regulators to introduce legislation recognizing the key role of financial planning professional bodies in the oversight of financial planners as a benefit to consumers.

Australia’s lower house of Parliament and House of Representatives passed the government’s Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) bill on 22 March 2012. The legislation now moves to the Senate. If approved, the new law would take effect on 1 July 2013.

The Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA), one of 24 member organizations of FPSB that together have qualified over 140,000 people to use the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER certification around the world, negotiated with the Australian government to encourage future regulation of financial planning to be informed – and potentially moderated – by the professional standards developed by FPSB, and localized by the FPA for the Australian marketplace. FPA called for the Australian government to put forward legislation to protect the term “financial planner” in law to ensure that only those with appropriate competencies and appropriate professional oversight could hold themselves out to the public as financial planners. Additionally, FPA negotiated for inclusion in the FoFA legislation recognition of the duty of care to clients provided by financial planners who are members of a professional body with an approved code of professional practice.

“We congratulate the Australian government and the Financial Planning Association of Australia for taking the initiative to protect consumers seeking the services of financial planners,” said Noel Maye, FPSB CEO. “If approved, these reforms, and the partnerships between government and professional financial planning bodies they encourage, could provide a model for other jurisdictions seeking to establish and oversee the profession of financial planning.”

Australia’s proposed regulatory reforms are consistent with the approach recommended by FPSB’s tenets for effective financial planning oversight, detailed in the Position Paper “Regulation and Oversight of the Financial Planning Profession” (GPS 2 10/2010). Developed through consultation with FPSB’s 24 member organizations, the following tenets outlined a framework for how regulators and professional bodies could cooperate to oversee and regulate the financial planning profession in a territory:

1. Use of the title “Financial Planner” should be protected in law or regulation.

2. Financial planners should be held to a fiduciary-like standard of care in law or regulation

3. Use of related titles should be covered in law or regulation.

4. Oversight of financial planners should be undertaken by a professional financial planning body.

Through FPA Australia’s active leadership in engaging with the government and regulatory authorities, all of the elements above have been included in the proposed Australian legislation.

“FPSB's position paper called for a collaborative effort between governments and professional bodies to achieve effective oversight of financial planning,” said Maye. “We welcome enforcement of appropriate standards, and governments’ and regulators’ recognition of financial planning as a distinct, professional practice. FPA Australia and the Australian government are to be commended for taking a leadership position globally in creating a new model for financial planner oversight, one that focuses on supporting and enforcing meaningful professional obligations, professional body oversight and consumer protection.”

About FPSB

FPSB manages, develops and operates certification, education and related programs for financial planning organizations to benefit the global community by establishing, upholding and promoting worldwide professional standards in financial planning. FPSB demonstrates its commitment to excellence with the marks of professional distinction – CFP, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER and CFP Logo Mark. FPSB has a nonprofit member organization in the following 24 territories: Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Chinese Taipei, Colombia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States. More than 140,000 individuals hold the CFP certification worldwide. For more, visit fpsb.org. Follow FPSB at twitter.com/fpsb or facebook.com/fpsb1.

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