Australian investors are much more satisfied with the options and decisions they are presented with under the financial services reform (FSR) regime.

Investment and Financial Services Association CEO Richard Gilbert says the number of complaints about experiences and financial planners has dropped in the past two years.

Speaking at the Financial Industry Complaints Service (FICS) annual general meeting last Thursday, Mr Gilbert said Australians do not seem to be complaining at the sort of levels being experienced in the UK, for example.

Complaints by investors to FICS in 2003 were in the high 500s, and by the end of last year the number had dropped by about 100.

The number of new complaints about financial services providers fell by 251 in 2005 from 1416 the year before. The fall was attributed to less-volatile financial markets and an improvement in internal dispute resolution processes.

During the year 284 complaints were resolved by FICS, and the number of internal dispute resolution workshops it conducted was increased.

“Unfortunately, the Westpoint failure will see numbers spike,” he said. “In fact, over 60% of the investors in Westpoint appear to be self-managed super funds.”

“The FSR regime strives to offer maximum protection to consumers, while still allowing providers of financial services to devise innovative financial solutions,” he said.

Mr Gilbert challenged critics of the legislation to find a single licensing regime that could improve on the existing regulations while providing consumer benefits.

“When the markets dipped by more than 20% at the beginning of the millennium, the Australian regulatory system within which we operate was ‘stress tested’ and found to be robust.”