Advisers are sceptical that the Quality of Advice review will achieve its named aim – that is, to improve the quality of advice. Nor do they believe it will improve advice affordability and accessibility.
New advice fee consent rules come into effect on Thursday July 1, and a recent survey of financial advisers by CoreData suggests not everyone is necessarily well prepared for the changes.
The new rules require advisers to obtain written consent from clients before they can deduct fees from the client’s account, to set out the services and for the coming 12-month period as well as estimate the fee, and to review ongoing fee arrangements each year.
There are additional new rules relating to the deduction of advice fees from superannuation accounts; the trustee of the fund must receive a copy of (a) the client’s informed consent to paying the fees, and (b) that the fee being charged is in-line with the agreed advice arrangement.