Risk Regulatory Update
/CFA Institute overhauls CFA program
In a huge update since the program’s inception in 1963, the CFA Institute has enhanced its CFA Program to reflect the current investment landscape better. The program now has digital practical skills modules for job applications and specialised pathways for specific roles in portfolio management, private wealth and private markets.
There is now a digital badging strategy and the volume of study materials has been reduced to allow preparation for each exam in around 300 hours. Level one candidates can buy the CFA Program Practice Pack with 1,000 new practice questions and six more mock exams. The level one exam has been extended by a year for those who are to years from completing an undergraduate degree.
February adviser exam results released, 67% pass rate
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has released the February 2023 financial adviser exam results. Of 192 candidates, 128 have passed with 60 per cent of those candidates taking the exam for the first time.
NZ planners must now hold full advisers licence
The transitional licensing phase for financial advisers has ended, and all financial advisers must be fully licensed before practising as of 17 March 2023. The licence is administered by the Financial Markets Authority (FMA).
AFCA: complaints going up, general insurers to blame
At a recent Member Forum for the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), it was revealed that complaints are going up and despite so many, natural disasters were not the cause: insurers were.
Emma Curtis, AFCA’s lead ombudsman, said there was also a declining responsiveness, with issues regarding overdue responses and non-responses. Curtis said the rates are ‘significantly higher’ than in the past two years, as are insurer extension requests.
Curtis said complaints with AFCA regarding general insurance have increased exponentially across the past 12 months with a record number of about 24,000 general insurance complaints, a 52 per cent increase on the previous year. Most complaints were regarding home building insurance.
ASIC provides relief for reissue of some life insurance policies
Conditional relief has been offered to life insurance companies from the design and distribution obligations (DDO) when reissuing of insurance policies in certain and limited circumstances.
The relief is set to reduce the regulatory burden for insurers in the cases of low risk of consumer harm for products issued on or after 5 October 2021. The relief after this date also provides for corrections of admin errors and reinstatement of lapsed policies.
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