It was pretty clear from the regulator that they didn’t want product to be the focus of what a financial planner or financial advisor led with. So with that, the message was clear: Don’t lead with a financial product as the tool that is going to help someone. Lead with advice and understanding them and what it is they really need.
And that’s gone across into our social media communications. We don’t talk about products. We don’t talk about anything to do with a financial product whatsoever. We’re talking on social media about things that can help people learn more, understand more, and engage more with us as financial planners and also as a financial planning community.
So regulation has been a good thing in that sense. We have our standard disclaimer on our videos, the general advice warnings to let people know that they do need to contact an advisor to make decisions. But we’re not talking about products, we’re not talking about specific U.S. shares, we’re not talking about technology stocks, we’re not talking about Australian shares or specific asset classes. We’re just really there to educate people, and I think all governments around the world are wanting the people of their nations to be educated much better about money and financial decisions. And they want that to come from financial planners. They don’t want that to come from banks. They want that to come from trusted sources.
When we go back to the education standards and reference that, the education standards have uplifted us to be in a position to communicate really well with the people in our country to help them make better decisions with money. And that’s only going to be for the greater good of all people in the country, and the government actively encourages that.
Jamie McIntyre, CFP, is a 13-year MDRT member. Hear more in the MDRT Podcast:
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