Gaining the attention of your local Member of Parliament on important policy matters might sound easier said than done. But some practical tips and tools developed by the FPA will help planners to better engage with politicians.

At a time when the financial planning profession is under intense media and regulatory scrutiny, it can be hard to remain focused on what’s important for financial planners and their clients – namely, creating a profession that is universally respected and trusted.

And that’s where advocacy comes in.

By properly and respectfully engaging legislators, an individual or group, can actively influence decisions within the political and regulatory spheres.

As the FPA’s Head of Policy and Government Relations, it falls on Ben Marshan CFP^® to steer the FPA’s, and its members’, legislative agenda. But when it comes to advocacy, he believes this can be particularly powerful when the collective involvement of the profession is engaged with their local Member of Parliament (MP).

Why advocacy?

But why should financial planners be concerned about advocacy, particularly in relation to engaging with politicians? After all, isn’t this the responsibility of professional bodies, like the FPA?

Marshan agrees but says that engaging with your local MP is an effective way of demonstrating that you care about the laws that govern both your profession and the financial affairs of your clients and all Australians.

He adds that MPs have the responsibility of representing the views of their electorate in Parliament and in party room discussions, so it’s important that planners make those views known.

“Legislative policies are often developed based on a limited set of information,” Marshan says. “Therefore, advocacy is important to make sure that politicians are aware of the full impacts of the proposals they are making, so they can develop informed positions that represent their electorate.

“So, as financial planners have their clients best interests at heart, it’s important for them to make sure that any policy decisions proposed or legislated by Government are not only appropriate for the profession, but importantly, for consumers.”

It’s a view supported by the Federal Member for Forde, Bert van Manen MP.

van Manen is well placed to speak on advocacy, having been a financial planner for 12 years prior to being elected to Parliament in 2010.

“Most planners have been in the industry for a long time and they have valuable advice to give to us as Members of Parliament. My political colleagues and the bureaucrats we get advice from don’t have all the answers, and generally, we don’t have the experience or exposure to the industry and its issues that planners have. That’s why the input of planners is so important in helping Parliament formulate policy in financial services.”

He believes that by engaging more closely with politicians, planners have a unique opportunity to speak directly to politicians and influence their decision-making about the issues they are seeing within the profession.

“It’s also an excellent opportunity to explain to politicians the value of the service that planners provide to the wider community. In my opinion, the greatest service that planners provide is the strategic advice they provide to their clients,” van Manen says. “And that’s something more politicians need to be made aware of.”

As politicians are ultimately responsible for bringing about changes in law, Marshan believes it’s important that as a profession, planners play a more active role on their clients’ behalf to ensure that politicians, the regulators and other industry stakeholders are aware of the impacts that different policy measures can have on Australians.

Only by proactively engaging with politicians can planners help educate MPs on the ramifications of law, while helping them to better understand the impacts that different pieces of legislation can have on the financial wellbeing of Australians.

How to engage with your local MP

According to Marshan, there are many ways that planners can engage with their local MP, such as writing a letter, phoning, emailing and following them on social media. But by far the most effective form of engagement with an MP is a face-to-face meeting.

It’s a view supported by van Manen.

“Planners should consider contacting their local member for a catch-up over coffee. This is a great way to get to know your local MP and to explain the value proposition planners provide their clients around strategic advice,” he says.

“Personally, I prefer to sit down and engage with people face-to-face. And if people have issues or concerns, instead of just talking about problems, I like it when they bring along possible solutions.”

However, Marshan concedes that engaging with MPs does take time and effort – both for the planner and their local Member.

FPA Advocacy Kit

So, to assist practitioners, the FPA has developed the Advocacy Kit, which comprises practical tips and tools on the most effective ways for a planner to engage with their local MP. The Advocacy Kit also includes information about current issues that planners may want to bring to their MP’s attention.

To assist planners to better engage with their local MP, the Advocacy Kit provides informative tips on the following:

• Important tips to get you started;
• Finding and addressing your MP;
• Tips for writing a letter to your MP;
• Tips for writing an email to your MP;
• Making the most of your face-to-face meeting;
• Tips for telephone calls with your MP;
• Engaging with your MP via social media; and
• What to give your MP.

“The Advocacy Kit provides what we believe are the best steps for planners to engage with their local politician,” Marshan says.

In addition, the Advocacy Kit includes a variety of educational fact sheets on current topical issues for MPs. Topics include:

• The Future Financial Profession;
• Achieving a comfortable retirement;
• The Royal commission into financial services in Australia;
• Industry funding model for ASIC;
• Improving access to advice – tax deductibility of advice fees;
• Improving consumer protections;
• What is financial planning?; and
• About the Financial Planning Association.

“While we may not always agree with what politicians and the Government are doing, it’s important to understand that they have been elected as representatives of their constituents, so they need to be respected for the job they are doing,” Marshan says. “If you show them that level of respect, then they’re more receptive to hearing the viewpoint you’re putting forward.”

Making a difference

But does engaging with politicians really work, after all, can one person’s opinion really make a difference?

van Manen speaks from experience when he says “it can and it does”.

“It may not always be immediate but engaging with the political process is about persistence,” he says.

van Manen believes the greatest success the financial planning profession is likely to have in the political process will be achieved by having planners collectively articulate the same position and for industry bodies, like the FPA, to also advocate the same position. It’s a case of strength in numbers.

“So, it’s not just about advocating with your local MP, but it’s also about advocating within your industry association, like the FPA, and to ensure these industry bodies are properly representing their members’ concerns and the issues their members are dealing with,” van Manen says.

The FPA Advocacy Kit is available either as a complete booklet or as individual fact sheets. To download the booklet or fact sheets, go to the Member Centre of the FPA website at fpa.asn.au, select ‘Your Resource Centre’ and choose ‘FPA Advocacy’.