Financial Planner – Should we have caution or concern?

If the scandals surrounding the large Financial Planning networks of the Commonwealth Bank and AMP this year haven’t put you off using a financial planner, today’s article leading the Business section of the Sydney Morning Herald sure will get you thinking… But it leaves me wondering if we are tarnishing a whole industry with the brush of a few opportunists?

The Sydney Morning Herald today has uncovered the fact that a “nationally accredited” Financial Planner with a “diploma of financial planning” can receive their certification after completing a course entirely online that costs $1425 and takes just four days, at the end of which they have to sit an open book exam.  With this the planner can give “both personal and general advice” and for an extra $175 they can also become a provider of Self-managed Super Advice.  There is no pre-requisite for studying Financial Planning, not even a high school certificate!  And these are the people we trust with our money!

The fact is, the industry has been operating like this forever!  And until this year, when half the country is waking up and realising the the Superannuation and Financial Planning industries will be the major beneficiary of the Baby Boomer’s ageing process, it didn’t seem to matter.  But this year there has been few positive stories about financial advice or financial advisers.

ASIC have said they want to do something about it… but won’t say what.

But if our big banks and financial services brands think it is important not to be tarnished by a few money-hungry opportunists, maybe they’ll need to impose internal standards for education and set up courses for the industry.

Share your thoughts today… Is four days of training enough to manage your money?