The Financial Services Council of Australia (FSCA) is warning that some financial advisers are using leaflet-printing as a “fidirectional” strategy.
A FSCA report released on Tuesday said the leaflet is now being used as a proxy to help “buy” financial products.
“This is not about ‘buying’ but buying ‘selling’ a financial product,” the report said.
The FSCa said the use of leaflet advertising is not new but the trend has become more prevalent since it was introduced by the FSC.
It said that in the first quarter of 2018, financial services firms in Australia used 6 per cent of their marketing budget to print leaflets.
FSCa CEO Andrew Wilson said the agency’s report found that the number of financial advisers using leaflets has risen by around 300 per cent since 2010.
Wilson said the number was “likely to continue to increase in the coming years”.
He said the FSA had recommended that “everybody” should “avoid using a leafleting campaign unless it is absolutely necessary”.
The government said it has a “robust, robust” compliance program to protect the financial services industry.
But it has faced criticism from some in the financial industry over its handling of the issue.
In February, former Reserve Bank governor Ben Broadbent warned that some FSCs were using “a lot of the same strategy” that has been used by big banks to get access to consumers.
He added that the FSB’s new rules on “further marketing” could see FSC “become the new Big Six” and the “franchise model” of big banks could also be used to help increase profits.
Topics:financial-trends,consumer-finance,consumerism,financial-and-credit,banking,business-economics-and/or-franchises,business,financial,housing,financial_services,housing-industry,financials-and_consulting,health-care,housingpartnerships,government-and.disability,healthcare-facilities,australiaContact Nicola McKeagueMore stories from New South Wales