The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is advising financial advisers and product issuers to keep statements of advice (SOAs) as simple as possible. Executive Director FSR Ian Johnston says disclosure requirements are meant to be “consumer-centric” and lengthy SOAs and other disclosure statements are not helpful.

“Some industry participants have told us their lawyers are advising them to produce SOAs running to 80 or 90 pages in order to comply with the requirements of FSR,” he said. “If product issuers and advisers believe they need to produce overly complex documents… ASIC is prepared to consult with them and issue further guidance.”

He says ASIC has already provided advice on disclosure documents such as financial services guides (FSGs), SOAs and product disclosure statements. “The law is clear about what needs to be contained in such documents,” he said.

Mr Johnston repeated a major point for intermediaries: they don’t have to provide an SOA every time they talk to a client. It’s acceptable to issue a shorter document referring back to the original SOA when a document has already been supplied.

Mr Johnston says ASIC will consult on various issues in coming weeks as the new regime settles down.