MenuThe FPA calls on the remaining 61% of Australians to try qualified financial advice for free!
The FPA has today launched the 13th annual Financial Planning Week running nationwide from 26th August to 1st September this year.
Financial Planning Week, an initiative of the FPA, is designed to encourage, empower and educate all Australians about the positive difference that trusted financial advice can make to their lives.
Speaking about Financial Planning Week, CEO of the FPA, Mark Rantall, said that the FPA community has worked hard to transform financial planning into a trusted and respected profession.
“Financial Planning Week is part of that process,” he said. “The FPA community wholeheartedly believes that the lives of all Australians, regardless of their current financial position, can be improved by trusted financial advice from a planner with high standards and professional qualifications.”
Mr Rantall highlighted the importance of these initiatives given that new research shows that 61% of Australians do not receive financial advice, and 87% are unaware of the Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) reforms, reforms that were installed by the government to provide the general public with more access to advice.
“These statistics need to improve,” he said. “But what is particularly disappointing is that the percentage of Australians receiving financial advice has not increased over the past few years. It is precisely these kinds of issues that the FPA community is hoping to address through initiatives like Financial Planning Week.”
The FPA has been tireless in its pursuit of higher standards in the industry, and Mr Rantall said that choosing a respected professional with an appropriate industry qualification, like a Certified Financial Planner, is the best way to ensure that your planner will adhere to the highest standards and do the best for you.
Mr Rantall then outlined some of the activities on offer in Financial Planning Week:
- ‘Ask an Expert’ gives all Australians the opportunity to ask their financial questions, no matter how simple or complex, in their own words, and have them answered by an expert financial planner for free. ‘Ask an Expert’ is an online forum on the FPA website, (www.fpa.com.au/askanexpert) and questions can also be posed via Twitter. Questions should be sent to @FAAA_Au or #AskanExpert, and are already being accepted.
- The FPA website (www.fpa.com.au) will have useful insights, blogs, case studies and other material available, bringing to life the very real benefits of financial advice.
- ‘Find-A-Planner’ (www.fpa.com.au/findaplanner) is a directory of reputable financial planners by area
- The FPA Twitter handle (@FAAA_Au) will answer tweets and post links to a range of financial content at http://twitter.com/australiafpa
In addition to the ability to interact with planners via online forums, five major topics will form the basis of discussion and interaction throughout the week. These include debt, savings, superannuation and investments and life insurance.
Mr Rantall finished by saying that the topics were chosen as a result of the most frequently asked questions from last year’s Financial Planning Week, as well as discussions with FPA members about the topics most popular with their clients.
“Financial Planning Week is all about engaging with as many Australians as possible,” he said. “So we really wanted to make sure the activities and discussions on offer were informative and relevant to the largest number of people.”
“I hope that all Australians embrace Financial Planning Week and start to understand how a trusted financial planner can help improve their lives.”
