TAL, a leading Australian life insurance specialist, is running a training course to help financial advisers understand and apply the Financial Planners and Advisers Code of Ethics, which all financial advisers must comply with from 1 January 2020.
Run by TAL National Technical Manager, David Glen, the ethics training course had almost 500 financial advisers attend in the first session, demonstrating advisers' demand for education and resources in this area.
TAL Head of Licensees and Partnerships, Beau Riley, said the course was developed to help advisers fulfil their education requirements set by the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA) as well as prepare advisers for the mandatory FASEA examination.
"From 1 January 2020, financial advisers must comply with a code of ethics and be covered by a scheme under which their compliance with the code of ethics will be monitored and enforced.
"Additionally, financial advisers must obtain nine Continuous Professional Development (CPD) hours in 'Professionalism and Ethics' and pass a FASEA examination, which consists of a section on 'Applied Ethical and Professional Reasoning.'
"Currently, there are very few resources available to support financial advisers in understanding the code of ethics and how it applies to their day-to-day business dealings and customer interactions.
"Through our TAL Risk Academy ethics course, we want to equip advisers with a solid understanding of the scope of the code of ethics and the procedures they need to put in place to ensure they adhere to the code and demonstrate their adherence to others. This is particularly important so we can continue to deliver against community expectations and inspire consumer confidence in the financial advice industry as a whole.
"This course is just one of the ways we are helping financial advisers meet their FASEA requirements as part of our committent to supporting a well-informed and quality financial advice sector," said Mr Riley.
The course is available on-demand and is free to attend with one CPD hour available. To enrol in the course or find out more information, visit: https://risk-academy.csod.com/client/risk-academy/.
