MenuBe Better off and take charge of your financial future
Quality financial advice changes lives for the better. It empowers Australians to build a secure future, enjoy a higher quality of life, and experience less financial stress. By connecting with a professional licensed financial planner who’s a member of the FAAA, you gain access to trusted, globally recognised qualifications and expertise needed to give you the right advice to help you navigate the complexities of the financial world. It’s little wonder why 1.9 million* Australians obtain financial advice from a financial planner to grow and protect their wealth.
Whether you’re managing your super, planning for retirement, or simply need advice, you’ll enjoy stronger financial security and greater confidence with a licensed financial planner who’s a member of the FAAA.
FAQs
- For any further queries please get in touch at contact@faaa.au
What does the FAAA do?
The Financial Advice Association of Australia (FAAA) is the professional body for financial planning in Australia, representing accomplished professionals who sign up to high standards and put your interests first.
The FAAA is your trust mark when seeking a financial planner. To be a member of the FAAA, financial planners must have more experience, commit to ongoing education, as well as high professional and ethical obligations.
Do I need financial advice?
If you could achieve your financial goals by simply putting money away in the bank, you wouldn’t need a financial plan. Unfortunately, life is a little more complex – it’s hard to understand the intricacies of investment, taxation and ever-changing regulations, so you may need professional help.
Many of us resist seeking advice, as if our financial future weren’t just as important as our health or our children’s education. We often decide to manage our financial affairs ourselves, or leave it to someone we know, perhaps an accountant or a solicitor, which is a bit like buying vegetables at the butchers. Financial planning is a specialist profession and you should make sure that you’re getting advice from a properly qualified person.
Who can you trust?
Not all financial planners are the same. By looking for a financial planner that is a member of the FAAA, you can rest assured that they are highly qualified, experienced and will do the right thing by you.
Members of the FAAA can be distinguished from other financial planners because they:
- have a duty to put your interests first
- adhere to the FAAA Professional Code and Best Practice Standards
- are accountable to Australia’s leading professional associates
- complete training every year to keep their knowledge and skills up to date
- are obligated to explain and document their fees and charges to you in a clear and transparent way.
Is my financial planner regulated?
The first and most important point for consumers to be aware of whether the planner or adviser they are dealing with is properly registered and licensed. This is easy to check, simply by entering the person’s name into the Financial Adviser Register (“FAR”) run by ASIC. On this register you can see which firm your adviser is licensed by, the products they can give advice on, what training and education they have completed, and whether they have any disqualifications on their record.
ASIC acts as the regulator of the financial planning profession, ensuring that planners meet appropriate standards and ensuring that consumers are protected. Anyone providing advice on ‘financial products’ (for example; shares and bonds, superannuation, life insurance, margin loans etc must be registered with ASIC.
What does it mean if my financial planner is not on the ASIC Financial Adviser Register?
If your financial planner’s name doesn’t appear on the FAR, they might be advising in areas which aren’t treated as ‘financial products’ under the legislation. Many consumers aren’t aware that some products – including investment property, property development or digital assets like Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) or cryptocurrency – as well as some financial areas such as aged care and Centrelink, don’t require financial planners to be authorised. Anybody can start up a business advising people in these areas – and many have! It’s important to understand that if you’re taking advice in these areas from an unregistered planner, you will have very little protection under the law if things go wrong. For example you will be unlikely to be able to complain to AFCA if the advice you receive is not suitable.
