The FPA's shortened Statement of Advice (SOA) has received a positive response from stakeholders and peers in the financial advice industry.
The shorter document condenses all of the key components that an SOA would normally need but uses easier to understand language that still meets the requirements of legislation, FPA chief executive Jo-Anne Bloch said.
Independent consumer research conducted on behalf of the FPA in May this year found that consumers prefer shorter SOAs because they are easier and less time consuming to read.
"Many readers simply skip big chunks of longer SOAs because they assume that most of the document will be generic," Bloch said.
The sample SOA used in the research was written in plain English and respondents judged it to be clear and comprehensive with many saying they appreciated the less wordy format as well as the use of bullet points and colour, she said.
The FPA used the results of this research to refine their short form SOA which was developed by the association's practitioner members.
"We have now added more diagrams and step by step processes and we have simplified the language without any jargon wherever possible," Bloch said.
The short form SOA is now ready for members to use and it can be accessed in the public section of the FPA's website.
