The Good Advice Duty: The Animals Remix or Back to the Future?

28 September, 2022
One of the very memorable catch phrases from the Animals’ song repertoire goes along the lines of “Oh Lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood.” These words could be applied, respectfully, to the proposed “Good Advice” duty – specifically, the central pivot which links “good advice” to the test of whether the advice would be … Read more

Quality of Advice Review: HSF makes submission on financial advice reform

26 September, 2022
In August 2022, the Quality of Advice Review released its Proposals Paper setting out a range of proposals to improve the accessibility and affordability of financial advice. Our team has made a formal submission to the Quality of Advice Review. While we strongly support the majority of the proposals outlined in the Proposals Paper, there are … Read more

Anti-hawking in financial services: Some observations on multi-product discounts

28 June, 2022
For some time now, the issue of whether a sales representative can cross-position different insurance policies or financial products through the mechanism of a multi-policy or multi-product discount has been somewhat of a vexed issue – to say the least. In this context, we are referring to a scenario where a client makes an enquiry … Read more

Financial services in the social media age: The rise and risks of ‘finfluencers’

04 April, 2022
During the COVID-19 pandemic, a record number of first-time traders flocked to the market, which propelled financial influencers (‘finfluencers’) into ASIC’s spotlight and squarely placed them within ASIC’s enforcement remit. The rise of finfluencers is unsurprising in the social media and digital age. As financial services and financial product distribution become more challenging and complex … Read more