An Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) officer who called financial planners untrustworthy is coming under increasing pressure, with Financial Planning Association (FPA) CEO Kerrie Kelly demanding action from ASIC Chairman Jeff Lucy.

Sharman Grant, ASIC’s Assistant Director of Compliance and Intermediaries, reportedly told a recent CPA conference in Sydney that she didn’t have a financial planner because she doesn’t trust them.

In a letter to Mr Lucy, Ms Kelly has demanded he investigate the matter and take appropriate action.

In a letter obtained by Sunrise Exchange News from the FPA, Ms Kelly says the association “was taken aback by Sharman Grant’s comments on advisers”.

The letter read: “Given the sweeping generalisations of Ms Grant’s comments, the outrage of FPA members is understandable. Ms Grant has slurred the integrity of all advisers, including FPA members.

“Such action is inappropriate of a senior ASIC officer and illustrates both a total lack of objectivity and a bias against those whom she is employed to supervise.”

Ms Kelly says the problem “clearly goes further than the comments of one ASIC officer”. She says Ms Grant was also reported to have said that ASIC “had a meeting to talk about how we can deal with… vertical integration and whether it’s worth saying to Treasury that [product providers owning financial planners] is just not working”.

“ASIC should be required to document the issues it has with the structure of our industry, and put its case for regulatory change formally and professionally to Treasury and Government,” Ms Kelly said.