Australian directors of companies and their officers are subject to a number of strict fiduciary duties that govern their behaviour towards interested parties. These laws are described in the Australian Corporation Act and can be summarised as:

• Duty of care and diligence.
• Duty to act in good faith and in the best interest of the company.
• Duty to exercise the directors powers for a proper purpose.
• Duty to avoid a conflict of interest.

 

Unfortunately Australian financial adviser’s fiduciary duties are not that strict and still have a long way to go. If the above director’s fiduciary duties would apply to bank and financial institution aligned advisers (95% of the Geraldton financial services market) they could well be in trouble today as they still charge commission (conflict of interest) and still recommend their clients to purchase products in the related bank or financial institution (breach of duty to act in good faith and the best interest of the client?).

Indian Ocean Financial Services' core philosophy is to provide clients with the best possible ethical outcomes at all times. As each client is unique, our advice could never provide a solution using just one financial institution or insurance company. We also do not accept commission, where possible.

Considering our commitment to adhere to the same strict rules that regulate the fiduciary duties of a director of an Australian company, we believe that our integrity and ethical behaviour surpassed what is expected as a member the Financial Planning Association and the Australian Securities Investment Commission (ASIC) advisory guidelines.

The Financial Planning Association codes of ethics for its members are:

Place the Client’s Interests First

The adviser should be honest and should not place personal or employers gain or advantage before that of the client.

Integrity

Members shall observe high standards of honesty and integrity in conducting their financial planning business and in the provision of financial planning services and follow the code of ethics in both the letter and spirit of the code.

Competence

Members shall maintain the ability, skills and knowledge to provide competent financial planning services in the areas they are involved.

Diligence

Members shall fulfil professional commitments in a timely and thorough manner, and taking due care in planning, supervising and delivering professional services.

Confidentiality

Members shall protect and maintain confidential client information in a manner that access to that information is limited only to those that are authorised to have access. As such client information shall not be disclosed inappropriately.

Objectivity

Members shall act honestly and impartially and disclose to the client any limitation on their ability to provide objective financial planning services while exercising at all time sound professional judgement.

Fairness

Members shall act according to the standards expected from a professional relationship and provide financial planning services in a manner that is fair and reasonable, which means to treat others the same that the member wants to be treated.

Professionalism

Members shall act in a manner that demonstrates exemplary professional conduct, which includes showing dignity, respect and courtesy to fellow professionals, clients and others in business related activities. Furthermore the standards expected ensure their conduct does not bring discredit to the financial planning profession.

Compliance

Members shall ensure their conduct complies with the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the FPA, the FPA's regulations and Professional Standards.

Finally, besides the ethical codes provided by our industry body, there is a number of other ethical and sustainable values Indianj Ocean Financial Services feel strongly about.

1. Promoting sustainable and ethical behaviour to our clients

Indian Ocean Financial Services has been a member and supporter of the Responsible Investment Association Australasia since 2008. This organisation promotes ethical investment, education and research in Australia through network, certification of advisors and industry lobbying. Visit www.responsibleinvestment.org for more information.

2. Reducing the carbon footprint of our office

Indian Ocean Financial Services is located in a green powered office. The north side of our building is covered with an impressive range of solar panels. Situated in sunny Geraldton this was an obvious move to take advantage of the free energy available.

We are more than keen to show our clients the 3 solar regulators located just a few meters away from our senior adviser.