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Now with a proposal put to members to merge with the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA), the FPA Congress will be the first major industry event held after the result of the vote is known. Whether members vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’, congress will be a critically important venue to discuss the implications for members and the profession.

With early-bird pricing closing soon, members are encouraged to register before 30 September.  AFA members are also invited to attend the FPA congress at FPA member rates.

Under the theme, ‘Reunite, Reset’, the congress will host a range of sessions designed to help financial planners better understand the issues facing the profession as well as provide practical tools and information enabling them to work more closely with clients and understand their changing needs, particularly in the post-pandemic environment.

Sarah Abood, CEO of the FPA, says since the last in-person FPA Professionals Congress in 2019, there has been huge change both in the financial planning profession and also in the broader community.

“As a profession we have seen a bewildering range of ongoing and proposed legislative change , and grappled with a substantial fall in the number of financial planners.  We’ve experienced a pandemic, a change of government, and a volatile broader macroeconomic environment which have all impacted how financial planners go about their work with clients.

“As well, the ways that clients think about their finances, their life goals and their priorities, have changed following the pandemic.

“The Congress provides an opportunity for an update on all these changes, and to learn from peers as well as benefit from global best practice.  As we mark our 30^th birthday as an association, and contemplate a new start joining our colleagues at the AFA, the theme of Reunite, Reset is enormously relevant,” Ms Abood says.

FPA Chair, David Sharpe, says the FPA Congress will provide an opportunity for members to connect in person with their peers at a time when the profession continues to transform.

“As someone who runs my own practice in Perth, I see the FPA Congress as a great opportunity to reunite and share with colleagues so we can collectively improve the way we run our businesses and serve our clients.

“With a wide variety of sessions across the two days, there is something for everyone within the profession, whether you’re a principal, a paraplanner, an aged care specialist or an SMSF adviser,” Sharpe says.

The keynote presentation will be delivered by Professor Andrew Scott from London Business School who will discuss the latest thinking on longevity, what it means for us all as individuals and as financial planners, and what the broader economic, financial and social implications are.

In addition there will be plenary sessions from:

• David Sharpe and Sarah Abood on The Bright Future
• Matt Jones from Four Pillars on Grow Your Brand – business ideas from outside our industry
• Adam Spencer will lead a Q&A style discussion on “what will financial advice look like in 2030?” with the Hon. Bernie Ripoll, Professor Pamela Hanrahan, Sarah Abood and Tim Townsend
• Take Charge of your Future with Ben Crowe of Mojo Crowe – who has worked with with legends such as Ash Barty and Dylan Alcot

Breakout sessions will include:

• Quality of Advice review update from Michelle Levy
• The future of advice delivery
• How to ensure all clients are profitable
• Is technology the saviour of advice?
• Connecting with your clients in a post pandemic world
• Aged care advice – pricing, tips and profitability
• Helping to unpack ‘disability’ and its implications for clients
• Cyber attacks: prevention, protection and post-attack plan
• How your clients voted in the last Federal Election may impact how they now choose to invest
• How to ethically exit a client
• Legislative updates in financial planning from ASIC and Treasury
• Client engagement skills for a post-COVID world
• How to build life insurance portfolios
• Redefining financial planners of the future
• How to identify genuine SMSF needs for clients
• Delivering the advice of tomorrow
• How to convert more business through curiosity
• How beliefs can influence a client accepting your advice

A networking event on the evening of Wednesday 23 November will provide an opportunity for attendees to catch up with old contacts and make new connections, as well as help celebrate the FPA’s 30th anniversary as a member association.

Register for the FPA Professionals Congress.

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Marisa Broome

Australians are making long term changes in their spending behaviour to minimise the impact of COVID-19 on their finances, according to CoreData research presented at The Financial Planning Association’s (FPA) keynote event held earlier this month.

‘Uncovering the Value of Financial Planning Advice’ held on 3 September brought together key players in the financial planning profession to discuss the importance of financial planning and how to ensure more people have access to quality, affordable financial advice.

The virtual event was moderated by award winning journalist Helen Dalley, with Paul Clitheroe AM (Money expert and Chair of Financial Literacy Macquarie University), Alan Kirkland (CEO of consumer advocacy group CHOICE) and Dr Pamela Hanrahan (Adviser to the Hayne Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry in 2018) as special guest speakers.

According to the survey^[1] findings discussed at the event, four in five Aussies took action to protect their finances to minimise the impact of COVID on their personal finances. The top five actions included: reduce discretionary spending (63.5%), reduce spending on essentials (47.8%), cancelling memberships (36.7%), seeking additional work/jobs (16.9%) and applying for financial support/loan (12.8%).

Yet despite these actions, more than twice as many households are in a fragile financial position now, compared to before COVID.

When it comes to spending patterns, Australians are making long term changes and may take more than a year (or never) to get back to their pre-COVID spending levels.

Particularly on memberships and subscriptions such as gym, streaming services, while 30% of Australians expect to start spending again within next six months, over 20% said they might either need more than 12 months or may never go back to the same level.

On other discretionary items and activities such as eating out, social activities, nearly half are committed to returning to normal with six months, and almost 20% within 12 months.

Marisa Broome CFP^®, FPA Chair said: “We’re experiencing an extraordinary and life changing moment in history. It’s affecting every facet of our lives. Our health, our work, our emotions, our friendships, our travel plans, our life plans and of course our financial circumstances.

“Money plays such a critical role in our ability to live the life we want. Especially in the face of challenging and unplanned circumstances.”

Universal access to financial advice

The event saw financial experts and advised clients talk about the importance of financial advice and the support of a professional financial planner to unlock dreams and manage the unprecedented times for everyone.

Mr Clitheroe pointed out that the current framework meant advisers were restricted to only being able to help high net worth individuals and other relatively well-off consumers who could afford to pay for advice.

“That satisfies [roughly] the top 10 or 20 per cent of the population of Australia. What do we do for the other millions of people who want to talk about everything from their credit cards, to investing a hundred dollars, to talking about [whether they should] put a thousand dollars in super or [towards paying off their] mortgage? That remains the challenge.”

His views were echoed by Ms Broome who confirmed that financial advice is both hard to access and expensive to pay for. It is beyond the reach of most Australians.

“We at the FPA want to change this. We want more Australians to seek financial advice but to do that they need to be able to access it and afford it. I passionately believe that helping Australians to build their financial capability and understanding is critical not just to them individually but to the nation,” she added.

Mr Kirkland from CHOICE argued that customer-centric financial advice needs to start with a good understanding of the customer’s needs and aspirations and their financial capability, and then exploring the different ways of providing that advice.

“It’s about really assessing when advice as provided by a financial planner is actually the right approach for a person and if it is, whether they need one-off advice or ongoing advice. Because sometimes, good advice is about giving people the skills they need to make decisions themselves through their day to day life,” he explained.

CoreData research further confirmed that of those who acknowledged they need help to strengthen and protect their financial position post-COVID, affordable advice and support from a financial planner appeared to be among the top three, with one quarter of Australians saying this would help.

The top two requirements for support included: ‘Tips and advice from companies I pay regular bills to on how to reduce bills’ (31.9%) and ‘a website or other free accessible resource that explains what financial services and supports are available’ (27.2%).

The event also featured clients sharing their stories about the valuable experience of working with a financial planner, particularly the intangible benefits of confidence, comfort, peace of mind and empowerment over their financial situation.

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[1] n = 1,145 Australians

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