Financial advice: Is it in your interest?

01.Introduction

The issue

The recent collapse of Storm Financial has plunged thousands of households into unexpected debt and desperation, with losses expected to exceed $100 million. In 2006, the Westpoint Group collapse lost investors in excess of $300 million.

Common to both collapses were remuneration models that created moral hazards for advisers and led to people being pushed into risky products that weren't necessarily right for them.

We don't think financial advisers should be pushing products simply to serve their own interests and we're calling on the government to ban commission, asset based and other incentive remunerations.

There are more than 16,000 financial advisers across the country, and many are doing the right thing. But seeking personal financial advice shouldn't mean playing Russian roulette with your life savings.