Short-form statements of advice get the nod
The Financial Planning Association (FPA) says its model short-form statement of advice disclosure document ticks all the boxes with consumers. And ASIC agrees the 10-page model is the way to go.
The association has developed the short, plain English statement of advice in response to concern that verbose and overly long documents were simply confusing consumers.
The new model – which is now available to FPA members – is easy to read and understand, according to FPA public opinion research.
This week, the Financial Planning Association (FPA) released a 10-page example of a
statement of advice, written in plain English and tested with consumers.
ASIC Deputy Chairman Jeremy Cooper calls the FPA model “a major step forward in the ongoing challenge to shorten and refine documents to make them more user-friendly”.
“This is a very positive step in getting planners to understand the old adage that ‘less
is more’,” he said in a statement. “A short and simple document that talks to clients in their language is much smarter than technical jargon and legal mumbo-jumbo.”
Mr Cooper says ASIC often sees statements of advice that are more than 50 pages long. “Some advisers think that a long document is required by law. They couldn’t be more wrong.”
The association has developed the short, plain English statement of advice in response to concern that verbose and overly long documents were simply confusing consumers.
The new model – which is now available to FPA members – is easy to read and understand, according to FPA public opinion research.
This week, the Financial Planning Association (FPA) released a 10-page example of a
statement of advice, written in plain English and tested with consumers.
ASIC Deputy Chairman Jeremy Cooper calls the FPA model “a major step forward in the ongoing challenge to shorten and refine documents to make them more user-friendly”.
“This is a very positive step in getting planners to understand the old adage that ‘less
is more’,” he said in a statement. “A short and simple document that talks to clients in their language is much smarter than technical jargon and legal mumbo-jumbo.”
Mr Cooper says ASIC often sees statements of advice that are more than 50 pages long. “Some advisers think that a long document is required by law. They couldn’t be more wrong.”