The AIOFP supports a letter by clients from advisors to politicians

We are pleased and fully support the circulation of the below letter to the clients of Financial Advisers, we have been strongly advocating this strategy since 2019 leading into the 2022 Federal Election. Our industry needs educated and engaged clients who understand that the unnecessary compliance imposts and unfair CSLR and ASIC levy costs will ultimately be passed onto them. Our industry also needs enraged Advisers who are prepared to be politically active.

This is not about telling clients who to vote for, this is all about education and political intimidation.

Clients becoming educated on these facts will concern all Politicians, the results we helped to achieve in 2022 with the seat of Kooyong and our success with the Education Pathway 10 – year rule legislation should give encouragement to all that Adviser led advocacy can and does work if managed efficiently. The AIOFP has the track record, experience and professional advice support to be successful again.

We have recently sought legal advice on all possible actions including boycotting the CSLR payments and seeking relief in the International Humam Rights Commission [IHRC]. Unfortunately, a payment boycott will list you as an ATO debtor with the eventual cancellation/targeting of the AFSL by ASIC and the IHRC does not interfere with legislation created in a democracy.

We have concluded that the only feasible political options to achieve effective outcomes is to educate clients, intimidate Politicians leading into the next election, a political donation or two and challenge 99FA in the Courts. Despite Canberra Bureaucrats effectively running the country, they cannot directly create or amend legislation, only the Politicians can do that.

The recent criticism from the Opposition over the ‘hot mess’ handling by the Minister has potentially created the ‘perfect bipartisan storm’ environment to capitalise on, but timing is everything in politics.

One of the very best guest speakers over our 25 – year Conference history is USA based Financial Adviser Doug Hughes from Bloomington Indiana who presented in Bangkok and Vientiane on the US Financial Advice market, political environment and a common global scourge affecting all Financial Advisers. Doug’s content, delivery and demeanour was nothing short of excellent, we are pleased Doug has agreed to attend and again speak at our mid – year 2025 conference on Hamilton Island.

The global scourge we are referring to is the incessant unfair blaming of Investment Product failure on Financial Advisers whilst the other market stakeholders run for political and legal cover to avoid accountability. Doug assured members that the US Advice community shares our pain when the Government Regulators, Institutional Manufactures, Trustees, Custodians and Research Houses point the finger at the ‘low hanging fruit Advisers’ spinning and politically manipulating the circumstances to suit their own agenda.

We also had a presentation from CORE DATA Malta manager Angele Paris who also confirmed that Financial Advisers are unfairly blamed throughout Europe/UK over product failure.

The most frustrating aspect to this charade is the very stakeholder that all other stakeholders should be acting in the best interests of are ultimately paying the price with lost savings and funding levies to pay for the utter incompetence of others – we are of course referring to Consumers.

The CSLR is a classic example of this profound injustice. Commissioner Hayne’s intention was to compensate consumer product failure victims with a retrospective start date of 1/1/2008 and include all MIS products. The attached document from Treasurer Frydenberg in 2019 leading into the election confirmed the Governments ‘unwavering’ support for the Comm Hayne RC Recommendations and the same sentiment was expressed by the Opposition.

History now confirms it was just ‘political rubbish speak’ leading into an election where both sides had no intention of implementing the spirit of Comm Haynes recommendations. When the realisation that the post 2008 product losses ran into many Billions the Institutional lobby went to work manipulating an outcome where the institutions put up a fraction to commence the CSLR funding BUT the advice community are caught with compensating victims of a vertically integrated product failure where DIXON had morphed into a product manufacturer and ASIC registered the Product Disclosure Statements that failed. We also want to see ASIC take direct action against the Dixon Advisers/management over their conduct with clients.

With an election now less than 12 months away it is time for the Advice community to consolidate and get politically active. The scourge of Advisers getting unfairly blamed for product failure globally needs to be coordinated with our peers in USA, Europe and the United Kingdom to change mindsets amongst the Regulators who often communicate. This will be a long – term strategy to achieve change, the AIOFP will play a key role with this process.

The below documents/letter may be a bit complicated for some clients, but it is a great start in the right direction. We will put together another similar document once we receive the KC 99FA opinion.

Regards and maintain the rage!

• 201902 FSRC-Government-Response to Hayne RC
• CSLR and Treasury bill client letter (final)
• CSLR and Treasury Laws Amendment Bill email (final)
• 29 05 24 Federal Electorates +MPs Database