ASIC has thrown its support behind the Financial Planning Association's (FPA) 10-page example of a statement of advice (SOA).
"The FPA's example is a major step forward in the ongoing challenge to shorten and refine documents to make them more user-friendly," ASIC deputy chairman Jeremy Cooper said.
Despite the law stating SOAs have to be clear, concise and effective, ASIC regularly sees statements of advice that are 40 or 50 pages long, and some much longer, according to Cooper.
"Long SOAs are a headache for everybody, and are neither necessary nor useful," he said. "A short and simple document that talks to clients in their language is much smarter than technical jargon and legal mumbo-jumbo."
The new 10-page example was a positive step in getting planners to understand the old adage that less is more, Cooper said.
FPAchief executive Jo-Anne Bloch said she was pleased to receive positive and strong public support from ASIC,
ASIC published an example of a short SOA in August 2005. The latest example, put together by the FPA, adheres to legislative requirements and has been tested on consumers.
