Broad view of financial advice Flashcards

1
Q

What are the four distinct areas of financial advice?

A

Financial product advice, credit advice, non-financial product advice and tax advice.

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2
Q

What is financial planning primarily involved in?

A

Developing strategies to assist clients to manage their financial affairs.

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3
Q

Why do clients need to manage their financial affairs?

A

To build wealth, be financially secure and achieve lifestyle goals.

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4
Q

What does holistic financial advice cover?

A

Wid range of a client’s lifestyle and financial circumstances.

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5
Q

What are two types of financial advice?

A

Holistic and limited.

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6
Q

What is scaled financial advice also known as?

A

Limited financial advice.

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7
Q

What may limited financial advice focus on?

A

Advice might focus on one area of a client’s situation.

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8
Q

What does ASIC stand for?

A

Australian Securities and Investments Commission

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9
Q

What is ASIC responsible for?

A

Responsible for monitoring and promoting market integrity and consumer protection across the
financial system.

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10
Q

Who is responsible for financial planners?

A

ASIC.

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11
Q

What does APRA stand for?

A

Australian Prudential Regulation Authority.

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12
Q

What does APRA do?

A

Supervises financial institutions to ensure they meet prudential standards, are in sound financial condition and have adequate and effective governance and risk management systems.

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13
Q

What does the ATO stand for?

A

Australian Tax Office.

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14
Q

What is the ATO primarily responsible for?

A

Collecting taxes.

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15
Q

Does the ATO administer various superannuation regulations?

A

Yes.

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16
Q

Who regulates SMSFs?

A

ATO.

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17
Q

What does SMSF stand for?

A

Self Managed Super Fund.

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18
Q

Who is the Tax Practioner Board affiliated with?

A

ATO.

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19
Q

What does TPB stand for?

A

Tax Practitioners Board.

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20
Q

What is the TPB responsible for?

A

Registration and regulation of tax agents, BAS agents and tax (financial) advisers.

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21
Q

What does AUSTRAC stand for?

A

Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre.

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22
Q

What is AUSTRAC?

A

Australia’s financial intelligence unit.

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23
Q

What does AUSTRAC have regulatory responsibility?

A

Anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism.

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24
Q

What does OAIC stand for?

A

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).

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25
Q

What does OAIC administer?

A

Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles.

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26
Q

What does ASX stand for?

A

Australian Securities Exchange.

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27
Q

What is ASX responsible for?

A

Monitoring complance with the operating rules of the exchange.

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28
Q

What are two things that the ASX monitors?

A

Listing rules and continuous disclosure by entities.

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29
Q

What section of the Corporations Act defines financial services?

A

Chapter 7.

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30
Q

What section of the Corporations Act defines financial products?

A

Chapter 7.

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31
Q

What does Ch 7 of the Corporations Act set out?

A

Licensing requirements for providers of financial services and the standards for conduct and disclosure to retail clients.

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32
Q

What does the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) seeks to strike a fair balance between whom?

A

The interests of insurers, the insured and other members of the public.

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33
Q

What principles are enshrined in the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth)?

A

Utmost good fait, duty of disclosure and cooling off period.

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34
Q

What legislation requires institutions to report certain transactions to AUSTRAC?

A

Financial Transaction Reports Act 1988 (Cth)

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35
Q

What does the Financial Transaction Reports Act 1988 (Cth)?

A

Requires financial institutions to report certain transactions to AUSTRAC.

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36
Q

What transactions to institutions need to report to ASIC?

A

Transactions over $10,000 and any suspicious activity above or below this level.

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37
Q

What legislation requires Australian financial service license holders to identify clients and assesst the risk?

A

Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth).

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38
Q

What does the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth) require financial license holders to do?

A

Adequately identify clients and assess the risks of clients

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39
Q

What client risks should fianncial services license holders be able to identify under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth)?

A

The possibility of involvement in illegal activity and unexplained wealth.

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40
Q

What legislation is administered by OAIC?

A

The Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act).

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41
Q

What does the Privacy Act 1988 regulate?

A

How private and public entities collect, store, use and disclose personal information.

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42
Q

What does APPs stand for?

A

The Australian Privacy Principles.

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43
Q

What does the Australian Privacy Principles highlight?

A

The processes financial advisors must implement to protect privacy.

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44
Q

What does the Australian Privacy Principles include?

A

The disclosure, collection and storage of personal information and the rights of the individual to access such information.

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45
Q

What does Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (CCA) form?

A

National consumer policy framework.

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46
Q

What is the objective of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (CCA)?

A

Improve consumer wellbeing.

47
Q

How does the competition and consumer Act improve consumer wellbeing?

A

Empowerment and protection, foster effective competition, and enable consumers to participate confidently in markets in which both consumers and suppliers trade fairly.

48
Q

What does the National Consumer Credit Protection Act do??

A

Protect consumers and ensure ethical and professional standards in the finance industry through the National Credit Code (NCC).

49
Q

What is a code of practice?

A

A set of enforceable rules describing an industry’s commitments to deliver defined standards of behaviour for members of the industry.

50
Q

What is an example of a code of practice?

A

Code of Professional Practice developed by the Financial Planning Association.

51
Q

What are five typical areas of financial advice?

A

Budgeting, debt management, investments,

insurances and retirement planning.

52
Q

What are some opportunities for the financial planning industry?

A

Increasing affluence, the growth in superannuation assets, changes to tax rules and age pension eligibility
and more complex financial products.

53
Q

What are two issues for the financial planning industry?

A

Low engagement by consumers and a lack of trust.

54
Q

What has low engagement and lack of trust towards the financial services industry been driver by?

A

Unethical behaviour and critisim of fianncial product renumeration.

55
Q

What do organisations providing credit advice need to apply for?

A

Australian Credit License

56
Q

What must organisations providing credit advice need to demonstrate?

A

Capacity, knowledge, skills and resources to operate a financial planning business.

57
Q

What legislation requires real estate businesses and agents to be licensed?

A

State legislation requires real estate businesses and agents to be licensed.

58
Q

How are real estate agents licensed?

A

An agent must pass a training course on buying and selling property, but this does not include assessing a client’s needs or giving advice

59
Q

What legislation established TPB?

A

The Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (Cth)

60
Q

Who registers tax practioners?

A

TPB.

61
Q

Who regulates tax practioners?

A

TPB.

62
Q

What do tax advisors advise clients on?

A

Advise clients on their tax liabilities, obligations and entitlements under any taxation law

63
Q

What must tax agents hold?

A

AFS license in giving financial advice.

64
Q

Are consumers and businesses likely to have different views about the term financial advice?

A

Yes.

65
Q

What are four terms about financial advice?

A

Financial product advice, credit advice, non-financial product and tax advice.

66
Q

What is advice?

A

Speaking to someone more knowledgable than you about an issue and receiving a recommendation.

67
Q

Whose primary business is financial product advice?

A

Financial planners.

The definition of a ‘financial product’
and what constitutes ‘financial product advice’ is contained in the Corporations Act 2001
(Cth) (Corporations Act).

68
Q

Who can give financial product advice?

A

Either licensed with the ASIC and meet disclosure and
conduct requirements, or be an appointed representative (usually an individual) who acts for or by arrangement with a licensee

69
Q

What legislation defines financial product?

A

Corporations Act 2001 (Cth)

70
Q

What legislation defines what constitutes financial product advice?

A

Corporations Act 2001 (Cth)

71
Q

What is credit advice?

A

It is advice about borrowing money.

72
Q

How can people/businesses borrow money?

A

Loan, lease or other financial product.

73
Q

Who can provide credit advice?

A

Representative of an authorised ADI, mortgage broker or finance broker.

74
Q

Who can provide credit advice?

A

Anyone providing credit advice must be licensed with ASIC and meet disclosure and conduct requirements,
or be a properly appointed representative.

75
Q

What is non-financial product advice?

A

Advice that is not financial product advice or credit advice.

76
Q

Is real property a financial product?

A

No.

77
Q

Who regulates property advice?

A

States and territories.

78
Q

Is health insurance a financial product under the corporations act?

A

No.

79
Q

What does health insurance not being a financial product mean?

A

Anyone can provide advice on it.

80
Q

What is tax advice?

A

Advice about tax legislation, including the tax aspects of superannuation.

81
Q

Who must people providing tax advice be registered with?

A

TPB.

82
Q

What must people providing tax advice meet?

A

Disclosure and conduct requirements.

83
Q

When did the government begin introducing legislation to protect consumers?

A

1980s

84
Q

When did ASIC become responsible for monitoring and protecting market integrity and consumer protection?

A

1999.

85
Q

What organisation plays a similar role to ASIC?

A

ACCC.

86
Q

How are ASIC and ACCC similar?

A

Both are concerned with members of the public and small businesses who have information asymetry.

87
Q

What is information asymetry?

A

Provider has more knowledge than the consumer and the consumer is at a potential disadvantage.

88
Q

Can information asymetry be disatrous when it comes to financial products?

A

Yes.

89
Q

What does the consumer protection do about licensing?

A

Financial service providers must be licensed and meet capability standards.

90
Q

What does the consumer protection scheme do about financial service providers being competent?

A

Financial service providers must be competent.

91
Q

What do consumer protection schemes do about standards of conduct?

A

They must meet standards of conduct.

92
Q

What does the consumer protection scheme do about disclosure documents?

A

Consumer must be provided disclosure documents.

93
Q

Why must consumers be provided with disclosure documents?

A

So they can make informed decisions about recommendations.

94
Q

What do consumer protection schemes do about dispute resolution?

A

Financial service providers must provide dispute resolution services and be able to compensate consumer who suffer financial losses.

95
Q

What is financial planning?

A

The process of developing strategies to help clients manage financial affairs.

96
Q

What are the advantages of clients managing their financial affairs successfully?

A

Build wealth, be financially secure and achieve lifestyle goals.

97
Q

When did financial planning begin to evolve?

A

Late 1980s.

98
Q

What drove the evolution of financial planning?

A

Regulatory changes and the need of consumers.

99
Q

Was deregulation a main factor in the evolution of financial planning?

A

Yes.

100
Q

Was the growth in the range of financial products and financial service providers a main factor in the evolution of financial planning?

A

Yes.

101
Q

What change in superannuation lead to the evolution of financial planning?

A

Compulsory superannuation.

102
Q

Did technological changes lead to the evolution of financial planning?

A

Yes.

103
Q

Did an increase in the wealth of Australians lead to the evolution of financial planning?

A

Yes.

104
Q

DId consumer protection regulation lead to the evolution of financial planning?

A

Yes.

105
Q

Has the definition of financial planning evolved over time?

A

Yes.

106
Q

What are two types of financial planning?

A

Holistic / scaled or limited.

107
Q

What is holisitic financial planning?

A

Considered a clients total personal and financial circumstances and makes wide ranges of recommendations.

108
Q

What is scaled or limited advice?

A

Where the advice only considers one or more of the clients needs or objectives.

109
Q

Why has the industry consolidated over time?

A

Increasing complexity.

110
Q

What are most financial planners now linked to?

A

Four major banks.

111
Q

Does Australia have an internationally regarded system of regulating the financial sector?

A

Yes.

112
Q

Who is ASIC?

A

Australia’s corporate, markets and financial services regulator.

In terms of financial services, ASIC regulates:
• businesses and individuals who provide financial advice, including financial planners,
stockbrokers, life risk advisers and insurance brokers
• businesses that manufacture financial products, such as investment managers,
superannuation funds, life and general insurers and approved deposit-taking institutions
• businesses and individuals who provide consumer credit advice,
such as mortgage and finance brokers
• businesses that provide consumer credit, such as loans, leases and finance
• trading on Australia’s domestic equity, derivatives and futures markets,
such as the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX)
• authorised financial markets, to ensure they are complying with their obligations to
operate in a fair, orderly and transparent manner.
ASIC maintains publicly available registers of the entities it regulates.
These include a register of:
• companies
• business names
• persons
• banned and disqualified persons.
The register of professionals includes financial service licensees, financial advisers,
credit licensees, credit advisers, auditors and liquidators.

113
Q

What is ASIC

A

Its aim is to
contribute to Australia’s economic reputation and wellbeing by ensuring that
Australia’s financial markets are fair and transparent, supported by confident and
informed investors and consumers.