There has developed a ground-swell of criticism of Shadow Treasurer, Chris Bowen, following his recent appearance at the 2014 AFA National Adviser Conference in Cairns. The criticism stems from what advisers have seen as Mr Bowen’s failure to address current industry issues during his speech, opting instead to deliver a more general discussion on Australia’s economic outlook. At at a pre-arranged media ‘door-stop’ following his speech, however, Mr Bowen was happy to respond to questions pertaining to the recently-released ASIC Review of Retail Life Insurance Advice, where he failed to guarantee the future of life insurance commissions and also suggested the industry had fallen short in its efforts to self-regulate.
While these are both critically important issues that require further widespread discussion and debate, many advisers have expressed their disappointment that Mr Bowen did not address them during his speech. One adviser who attended the Conference, Melinda Houghton, has published an open letter to Mr Bowen that seems to reflect what many of her peers have seen as a lost opportunity for the nation’s alternative Treasurer to commence a new, direct dialogue with advisers.
With our thanks to Melinda, we have re-produced her open letter…
This is what I would have asked you, Mr Bowen…
Have you ever been in a small financial planning practice?
Have you ever seen the mountains of paperwork required to provide even the simplest of recommendations?
Have you seen the boutique advisers changing their client’s lives whilst working 14 hour days and missing seeing their own children growing up?
I attended the AFA Conference this week. Hundreds of the most passionate advisers in the industry learning, growing and boosting each other up in an industry full of turmoil. Yes, we have to do professional development to maintain our ability to advise, but this was different. This was celebration of the outcomes we achieve, celebration of the best and the thought leaders, and acknowledgement of the industry problems, with a concerted desire to fix them.
We waited with eager but worried anticipation for Chris Bowen’s session. Headlined as ‘A vision for the future of advice’, we hoped we would hear some good news for a change. Instead of negativity and attacks on our industry, there was a room of 700 waiting for some kind of acknowledgement that what we strive so hard for would be recognised.
Do you know what we do Mr Bowen?
Instead of good or bad news though, we got nothing. Nothing relevant anyway. A general update on some economic issues. A comment on the education system. And a belief that we might be replaced by technology, the so called ‘robo-advice’.
Do you know what we actually do Mr Bowen?
Have you seen us work hard to help those sick and dying?
Have you seen us change their lives?
Have you seen us struggle to pay our own bills whilst building a practice that helps others pay theirs?
There was no question time for Chris Bowen, one of the few presenters who didn’t ask for input. But here’s what I would have asked…
Do you know that what we do is not all about super, investment or insurance?
Do you know that what we do is coach, guide, counsel, explain, examine and assist?
Do you know that we work with people? And that the numbers are just the methodology?
That it doesn’t matter to them that we prepare 70 page reports as long as the summary says that they can achieve their goals?
That if we don’t make them act and implement the recommendations then it doesn’t matter what the numbers say?
That ‘robo-advisers’ can’t do that?
He finished, there was a scattering of automatic applause. He went out to speak to media.
Not long after it hit Twitter. He had told the eagerly waiting media, but neglected to mention to us, that he was considering a ban on insurance commission, based on a report that checked up on the advice of 79 advisers.
Did you know that there are 18,000 advisers in Australia Mr Bowen?
Did you know the majority give excellent, high quality advice?
Did you know that we need to get paid for the hard work that we do?
Did you know that it’s already hard to make money in this industry but it’s easy to make a difference to people’s lives?
Did you know that surveys show most clients don’t care how they pay us as long as it is clear how and how much?
These are just some of the questions I would have asked you Mr Bowen, if you’d cared enough to let me.
I recently met with the legislative adviser for Senator Ricky Muir of the Motorists Enthusiast Party. He is a new Senator. He asked. He asked about our industry. He asked what we do and how. He asked about the impact legislation is making to our practice and the ability to provide advice. He asked about different sectors of the advice market and what we thought. He asked, and we believe he listened. We have invited him to visit our practice to see what we actually do. But he asked.
Here’s what I would have asked you Mr Bowen…
Do you know that there are bad apples in every industry?
That if those few don’t follow the current rules, they certainly won’t follow more?
Do you know that even some politicians are not in the game for the right reasons?
How do politicians cope when media coverage is repeatedly negative, but you know you really do a great job?
How do you think we cope when we are running an obstacle course to do our job, and the obstacles keep changing and getting bigger and more complicated? We can see the client we want to help on the other side of that barrier, struggling, drowning, and we feel we are swimming through mud to get the answers to them.
Do you know what we really do Mr Bowen?
Melinda Houghton is an authorised representative operating her business, Houghton Strategic Solutions, through licensee Aon Hewitt.
These are the views of Melinda Houghton and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Licensee – Aon Hewitt Financial Advice Ltd.
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