Of course it's over-regulation; in fact overkill.

Of course, there was room for improvement - not necessarily by regulation - throughout the whole financial services industry; there always was, there always will be, as with any area of human activity.

But for ASIC to bulldoze it's way through the financial adviser profession - probably the softest option of course - as if financial advisers were anti-social, self-serving incompetents, has been, and remains a stain on a body that has shamefully failed miserably to serve the public interest.

It's rather like a government's appointing a committee with virtually carte-blanche powers to examine the efficiency of the Armed Forces, then despite the fact of the troops in the trenches fighting to their utmost ability, decide to shoot the troops. Or at least, make their task virtually impossible.

And, of course, the Chiefs of Staff were afraid to speak up for fear of ASIC's charging them with self-interest, and thereby risking being ostracised.

All with one inevitable result.

Maybe we're going to wake up soon and - even if we allow that they had well-meaning intent - realise that ASIC's actions resulted in a disastrous shortage of financial care and guidance for the vast majority of Australia's everyday 'ordinary folk'.

And furthermore, made such care and guidance too costly and unviable to those financial advisers who remain.

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Hi I joined the Industry in 1974 all you needed was a rate book a pen and some applications I left recently due to the red tape required to do the simplest of tasks for a client, a lot of really good people have walked away after giving a lifetime of work that most other can,t do, keep it simple was the rule, now unless you are totally process driven and thrive on prepareing totally usless reports, you're gone. In this enviroment how hard is putting stop losses, most new advisers dont understand them with the red tape they are now impossible to use. they have there place.

I'm probably the only person who is going to thank you wonderful people who gave up your nights to make a living and help others look after them selves. You should have been given a medal for service to the community for selling a product that was so desperately needed in tragic circumstances.

Bruce Carter

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