Mark Rantall

Regardless of age, one thing is for certain – Australians could be doing more to make their financial future look brighter. And often it is about taking some simple steps, setting up good habits and seeking sound advice, rather than having a ton of money or a complex financial plan.

This is the key message the Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA) is hoping to bring to life this week as it kicks off the 14th annual Financial Planning Week, which will run nationwide from Monday 25 August to Sunday 31 August.

Financial Planning Week is designed to increase Australians’ understanding of what financial advice is and the benefits it can bring. The campaign aims to show consumers that using a financial planner shouldn’t be viewed as an option only for the wealthy.

CEO of the FPA and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER®, Mark Rantall, said Financial Planning Week is an opportunity to re-focus the discussion about financial advice and to illustrate to consumers that the right advice from a trusted and qualified financial planner can make a positive impact to their financial future.

“Trust is a critical component of financial advice and Australians have the right to know that when they seek financial guidance, they can trust the person they find.

“We are aware that now more than ever, financial planners are in the spotlight. As a result, consumers may feel overwhelmed with information and might not know where to start looking or how to ensure they are receiving quality advice. We want to help them feel confident about being in the driver’s seat; but also empowered about seeking expert advice.

“To make an informed decision on the help they may need, it is essential for consumers to have an understanding of financial advice and how they may benefit from it. That is why the central theme of this year’s Financial Planning Week is ‘back to basics,’ Mr Rantall added.

“The best way to succeed in reaching financial goals is through a plan. Calling on a trusted financial expert to help consumers develop a plan – and sticking to it – can make the difference between success and failure.

“Financial Planning Week is an initiative that helps consumers find the right financial tools and experts to help them achieve their goals.

“Financial planning can involve complexity but what the FPA is aiming to do with Financial Planning Week is have very simple information and tools that anyone can use to better understand how financial planning works.

“These include the free and popular ‘Ask an Expert’ initiative that allows Australians to ask a financial planner whatever burning finance questions they may have.

Financial Planning Week will be centred on the different life-stages, which can dictate various financial needs: young to mid-life, mid-life, pre-retirement and retirement.”

Some of the activities which will take place in Financial Planning Week are:

• ‘Ask an Expert’ gives all Australians the opportunity to ask their financial questions, no matter how simple or complex, in their own words, and have them answered by an expert financial planner for free. ‘Ask an Expert’ is an online forum on the FPA website.
• The FPA website will have useful insights, blogs, case studies and other material available, bringing to life the benefits of financial advice.
• ‘Find-a-Planner’ is a directory of qualified financial planners by area.
• The FPA Twitter handle (@AustraliaFPA) will answer tweets and post links to a range of financial content at http://twitter.com/australiafpa

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Good take-up of ‘Ask an expert’ offering during Financial Planning Week.

Results from the 13^th annual Financial Planning Week indicate that the need for access to quality financial advice is stronger than ever, with more than 90 questions submitted to the FPA experts and over 10,000 visits to the ‘Ask an Expert’ page.

Financial Planning Week, which concluded last week, is an initiative of the Financial Planning Association (FPA) that aims to encourage, empower and educate all Australians about the positive difference that trusted financial advice can make to their lives.

Superannuation and retirement planning emerged as key areas of concern for Australians during Financial Planning Week, attracting the highest number of questions and engagement online. Another major demographic seeking financial advice was young people planning for their first home or kicking off a savings plan.

Mark Rantall, CEO of the FPA said: “The interest from people of all ages and walks of life goes to show that quality financial advice is universally beneficial, whether you are entering retirement or looking to open your first bank account.

FPA research shows that just 61% of Australians receive quality financial advice, despite the massive impact it can have in consumers’ lives. Access to quality financial advice is truly a national issue, which is why we are so pleased to see Financial Planning Week achieved its goal of engaging Australians in benefiting their financial futures through trusted advice.”

Financial Planning Week comprised a number of activities to connect Australians with quality advice online and via social media.

The FPA community of financial planners was heavily involved in the initiative. More than 70 financial planners volunteered to answer queries for the ‘Ask an Expert’ site, while topic experts blogged on key issues relating to retirement, saving, superannuation, debt and life insurance.

“FP Week benefitted not only consumers but our members as well, with a 200% increase to the FPA’s ‘Find a Planner’ page during Financial Planning week as compared to the weekly average. In fact, half of the FPA’s 10,000 member practitioners received page views to their ‘Find a Planner profile’ during Financial Planning Week,” said Rantall.

FPA member, Renee Hush took part in Financial Planning Week and wrote a blog on the most popular topic of the week, superannuation and retirement.

“As Certified Financial Planners, we continue the work of Financial Planning Week in our everyday lives, promoting the importance and impact of financial advice through our work with clients. It has been a great experience dealing with members of the public who do not generally seek advice but see the benefits it can offer to their lives. I support the FPA in these initiatives and will continue to promote increasing access of qualified financial advice for all Australians.”

Research commissioned by the FPA in August revealed that only one in three (34%) Australians know where to find a financial planner they can trust. Yet, the results of Financial Planning Week are evidence to the fact that when it is made available, financial advice is highly valued by Australians of every demographic.

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ASIC and FOS show their support for Financial Planning Week.

Industry regulators ASIC and FOS have provided their support for the 13^th annual Financial Planning Week running nationwide from 26^th August to 1^st September this year. The Financial Planning Association initiative is designed to encourage, empower and educate all Australians about the positive difference that trusted financial advice can make to their lives.

Alison Maynard, Investment Ombudsman, Financial Ombudsman Service said: “We believe that Australians need professional financial advice and education about how to find good quality advice.  We support the FPA’s Financial Planning Week and the FPA’s initiatives to raise professional standards in financial planning for the benefit of all Australians.”

Mark Rantall, CEO of the FPA highlighted the significance of the industry working together to increase awareness around the benefits of financial advice for all Australians.

“The aim of the FPA community is to increase the number of Australians accessing qualified financial advice and reaping the benefits it brings. We appreciate the support from the industry and government for Financial Planning Week as well the ongoing support we receive for all FPA initiatives.

Through initiatives like Ask an Expert, we aim to provide Australians with a safe platform to ask advice of highly qualified professionals,” said Rantall.

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The FPA calls on all Australians to try qualified financial advice.

The Financial Planning Association (FPA) has launched the 13^th annual Financial Planning Week running nationwide from 26^th August to 1^st September this year.

Financial Planning Week, an initiative of the FPA, is designed to encourage, empower and educate all Australians about the positive difference that trusted financial advice can make to their lives.

Speaking about Financial Planning Week, CEO of the FPA, Mark Rantall, said that the FPA community has worked hard to transform financial planning into a trusted and respected profession.

“Financial Planning Week is part of that process,” he said. “The FPA community wholeheartedly believes that the lives of all Australians, regardless of their current financial position, can be improved by trusted financial advice from a planner with high standards and professional qualifications.”

Mr Rantall highlighted the importance of these initiatives given that new research shows that 61% of Australians do not receive financial advice, and 87% are unaware of the Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) reforms, reforms that were installed by the government to provide the general public with more access to advice.

“These statistics need to improve,” he said. “But what is particularly disappointing is that the percentage of Australians receiving financial advice has not increased over the past few years. It is precisely these kinds of issues that the FPA community is hoping to address through initiatives like Financial Planning Week.”

The FPA has been tireless in its pursuit of higher standards in the industry, and Mr Rantall said that choosing a respected professional with an appropriate industry qualification, like a Certified Financial Planner, is the best way to ensure that your planner will adhere to the highest standards and do the best for you.

Mr Rantall then outlined some of the activities on offer in Financial Planning Week:

In addition to the ability to interact with planners via online forums, five major topics will form the basis of discussion and interaction throughout the week.  These include debt, savings, superannuation and investments and life insurance.

Mr Rantall finished by saying that the topics were chosen as a result of the most frequently asked questions from last year’s Financial Planning Week, as well as discussions with FPA members about the topics most popular with their clients.

“Financial Planning Week is all about engaging with as many Australians as possible,” he said. “So we really wanted to make sure the activities and discussions on offer were informative and relevant to the largest number of people.”

“I hope that all Australians embrace Financial Planning Week and start to understand how a trusted financial planner can help improve their lives.”

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Retirement: one of the 5 most popular topics for discussion during the Financial Planning Week.

The questions financial planners are most asked, as well as the most debated topics from last year’s Financial Planning Week will form the basis of the key areas for discussion during this year’s Financial Planning Week.

Financial Planning Week, an initiative by the Financial Planning Association (FPA), will run nationally from 26^th August to 1^stSeptember. Mark Rantall, CEO of the Financial Planning Association (FPA), said that part of the aim was to build on the work the FPA community had done to transform financial planning into a trusted and respected profession.

“The FPA has always sought to promote the take-up of financial advice by helping Australians identify professional financial planners, and we hope that Financial Planning Week will encourage even more Australians to seek trusted financial advice.”

The FPA listened to questions asked by the public in last year’s Financial Planning Week and spoke with members about topics most popular with clients to list the top five topics which will form the basis of discussion and interaction during this year’s Financial Planning Week.

1.Retirement (Monday)

Making your money last, aged care, self-funding retirement, income streams and Centrelink entitlements.

2. Saving (Tuesday)

Children’s’ education, holidays, saving for a home, children’s’ weddings and other expected and unexpected events.

3. Super and Investments (Wednesday)

Accumulating and consolidating super, general wealth, shares and managed investments, different types of super funds, including SMSFs

4. Debt (Thursday)

Debt management, debt reduction, debt consolidation, cash flow management, loans, budgeting and deductible vs. non-deductible debt

5. Life Insurance (Friday)

Life insurance, income protection, disablement, trauma, how much you need, what type of cover, protecting your income, assets and family and considerations associated with family planning (e.g. education costs)

The FPA has chosen some of the most qualified financial planners in Australia to lead the discussion around each of these topics that the public is most interested in. Each Certified Financial Planner will blog and answer questions relating to their topic of expertise.

Mr Rantall outlined some of the activities on offer during Financial Planning Week.

“One of our most popular initiatives is the ‘Ask an Expert’ online forum,” he said. “It allows all Australians to pose financial questions, no matter how simple or complex, and have them answered by an expert financial adviser.”

“In addition to the online forum on the FPA’s website (www.fpa.com.au/askanexpert), questions can also be posed via Twitter. Questions should be sent to @AustraliaFPA using #AskanExpert,” he explained.

“There will many other materials including case studies available through our website. www.fpa.com.au and we would encourage everyone to have a look and engage with our financial advisers. And if you are looking to find a reputable adviser, the Find-A-Planner directory, will help you to find one in your area.”

Mr Rantall concluded by saying that he hoped all Australians would find something of assistance in the topics to be discussed during Financial Planning Week.

“We are covering a broad range of financial issues, so we would encourage everyone to engage via our website, blogs and to take advantage of the other information of offer. Trusted financial advice can help achieve better outcomes for all of us, so make sure you educate yourself and take advantage of Financial Planning Week,” concluded Rantall.

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FPA needs volunteers for ‘Ask an expert”.

As part of Financial Planning Week which will run from 26 August – 1 September, the FPA are relaunching our popular consumer service ‘Ask an Expert’.

‘Ask an Expert’ is an online question and answer service where a member of the public can post any question they like regarding financial planning and the question is then assigned to an FPA member on a panel of experts.

The FPA are calling for FPA practitioner members to volunteer as members of the panel. Have your photo and profile highlighted on the online forum and help us show Australians the value of professional advice by answering their burning questions about financial planning.

More about Ask an Expert

Since it was launched in August 2012, Ask an Expert has proved very popular with consumers with questions being submitted on a wide variety of topics such as retirement, superannuation, savings and insurance.

As consumers can see all the questions and answers they have a library of valuable content and information which they can refer to at any time

What’s involved?

To be eligible as a member of the panel, members must be a CFP^® practitioner or a Financial Planner AFP^® and be available to respond to questions on an ad hoc basis from 26 August – 18 October (8 weeks).

We ask that members answer the question assigned to them within 3 working days.

How does it work?

Once a consumer has submitted their question online the question is assigned to a member of the panel at random who then submits their answer online.

How do I volunteer?

• Step 1: Print out the agreement form and complete (sign off from your licensee is required)
• Step 2: Complete the biography form by typing your details into the Word document
• Step 3: Scan the agreement form and email together with the biography form and your photo to communications@fpa.asn.au with any questions you have about the service.

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Mark Rantall – CEO – FPA

New figures released by the Financial Planning Association (FPA) shows that the number of Australians seeking financial advice is significantly increasing. 
 
Over 26,000 Australians used the Find a Planner directory on the FPA website last month (February), a 76% increase to January this year and a 41% increase in comparison to February 2012. 
 
The FPA launched the Find a Planner tool on their website in 2011 as a method of improving access to financial advice for all Australians. 
 
Mark Rantall, CEO of the FPA said:
 
“Research proves that Australians who receive qualified financial advice are financially better off than those without. However, only 1 in 5 Australians currently receive financial advice – this is a national issue. The FPA is intent on increasing the access of qualified advice to improve the financial futures of all Australians and the Find a Planner tool is our way of providing Australians with a safe environment to take the first step towards seeking advice.” 
 
The Find a Planner directory provides consumers with access to more than 7,500 FPA practitioner members based around the country. Australians enter their postcode and the directory provides a list of qualified financial planners in the area to choose from.
 
“The increasing number of those seeking advice, is a sign that consumers are looking for the opportunity to find trusted and qualified financial advice from someone in their local area. We continue to support our members in providing profiles on the FPA site so that they are accessible to their communities,” said Rantall.
 
The FPA also launched Ask an Expert, a platform for consumers to ask questions of qualified financial planners via the website or twitter using #AskanExpert.
 
“Ask an Expert is a great success story originally set up as an opportunity for those who have never received financial advice to dip their toe in the water and experience the benefits of receiving financial advice without the cost.

“The popularity of Ask an Expert increases every year. Ask an Expert week this year (21-27 January) saw over 2,000 views to the site and the entire campaign had a reach of nearly 19,000.”

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The national event is a week-long initiative (21 January – 27 January) held by the FPA to improve access to financial advice for all Australians.

FPA CEO, Mark Rantall, believes that January is a great time for Australians to review their finances:

“For many of us, the New Year is a time to make positive changes to important parts of lives. Alongside our family and our health, our wealth is very important to our overall wellbeing. Therefore, Ask an Expert Week was set up to encourage Australians to improve their financial situation and support them in doing so.

“Through the website and twitter, qualified financial planners are on hand to provide advice on those financial questions,” Mr Rantall said.

“Research shows that people with a dedicated financial planner are more likely to feel financially secure and are more confident in dealing with their greatest financial concerns than those without (1).  However only two in five Australians currently receive qualified financial advice. We believe this needs to change in order to improve the financial well-being of the population.”

Through the Financial Planning Week initiative, the FPA has witnessed a growth in the number of consumers interested in trying out financial advice, and decided to provide a safe forum for people to seek this information via Ask an Expert Week and its associated tools.

“There are various reasons people do not seek advice on their finances. Some feel that financial advice is something that only High Net Worth individuals can access, others are simply not aware of the value advice can add and some just don’t know where to look. January’s Ask an Expert Week is the perfect opportunity for every Australian to test out trusted financial advice and reap the benefits,” Mr Rantall said.

During Ask an Expert Week, there are various tools available to consumers:

• The ‘Ask an Expert’ online forum
• Twitter: Any questions should be sent to @AustraliaFPA using #AskanExpert
• Consumer brochure explaining financial advice in plain English.

Mr Rantall concluded: “No matter what stage of life someone is at or what financial goals they are working towards, seeking sound financial advice from a qualified, professional financial planner can help you achieve those goals and Ask an Expert Week is the perfect time for Australians to review their financial situation, and take full advantage of the new tools available.”

(1) Source: CoreData Financial Planner Affection Research, September 2011

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