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Aims of the example interactive SOA
- The purpose of a more visual and digital SOA is to communicate with the client important and relevant information about the advice being provided. This information should enable the client to make an informed decision about whether to act on the advice.
- To improve on the mantra of clear concise and effectiveness of SOAs.
- To improve the design and user experience of SOAs, based on insights from behavioural research into how people find and understand the information in a digital world.
- To assist planners in the ability to create a relatively simple and effective communication tool that complies with the legislation.
What we have not focused on
The SOA according to RG90 is a communication tool that sets out and explains the advice.
It has not, and should not, been designed for use as:
(a) a compliance tool;
(b) a mechanism to protect the providing entity against liability; Note: A ‘providing entity’ is the person to whom the obligations in Pt 7.7 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Corporations Act) apply. The Australian financial services (AFS) licensee or authorised representative that provides financial product advice.
(c) a complete record of all information that you would expect to find in the client file (i.e. the information kept about the advice provided to the client); or
(d) a place to include additional information not required by law (e.g. educational material, which may be attached or provided separately).
During this consultation process, the review of “words” in communications were considered outside the scope, however, in saying this, we did come across examples of how planners could improve their communication based on the words they use.
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