ASIC has answered 2 FAQ’s in relation to general advice.
In QFS 158 "Can I give a client general advice about a financial product if I have information about their personal circumstances?" ASIC answers Yes.
"The fact that you have information about a client’s personal circumstances does not mean that any advice you then give to that client is automatically personal advice.
This is because the test for whether financial product advice is personal or general is not whether the adviser merely possesses information about the client’s personal circumstances.
Financial product advice will only be personal advice where:
- the provider of the advice has considered one or more of the person’s objectives, financial situation and needs; or
- a reasonable person might expect the provider to have considered one or more of those things: s766B(3)."
ASIC discusses 7 scenarios.
In QFS 157 "Do I need to follow the exact wording in the Corporations Act when I give a general advice warning?" ASIC says "No, the Corporations Act 2001 (the Act) does not require licensees or authorised representatives to use the exact wording in s949A(2) when giving general advice that
requires a warning under s949A (i.e. general advice to a retail client).
What the Act requires is that retail clients are warned about
the things highlighted in s949A(2) and that the warning is given to clients at the same time and by the same means as the advice is provided: s949A(3)."
