Effectively, this would mean that an insurer or takaful operator cannot refuse to show an adviser its range of products which has been a strategy used by some companies to protect their investments in the training of their own agents and discourage them from abandoning exclusive arrangements with the company. Of course, having access to the broadest range of products would not mean very much if advisers do not build the capacity to understand their features and effectively compare and contrast them against the specific needs of a client. This requires greater investments by financial advisers in the training of your representatives, information systems and in building relationships with a broader network of product providers. Let me now touch for a moment on some observations from our recently concluded fieldwork which examined the effectiveness of current mandatory disclosures in providing financial consumers with the information that they need to make financial decisions. The study which we conducted focused on the Product Disclosure Sheet (or PDS) which financial service providers are required to provide to all consumers before they enter into a financial contract, and covered life insurance and investment-linked products, structured investments and mortgages. We surveyed over 400 respondents and found that while the PDS provided by financial service providers is covering the type of information that consumers believe are important for making informed decisions, key product information is obscured in lengthy narratives, excessive information and technical or legal jargon that is difficult to understand.

Half of the respondents surveyed were not aware of the PDS while the majority of those that are aware claimed that they were given the PDS only after they had already decided to enter into a financial contract. Many of them were not informed of its purpose. The study also revealed a bias towards highlighting the benefits of a product in explanations given by sales agents or  BIS central bankers’ speeches  3  advisers on the product, while risks and costs were not adequately explained. It should therefore not be surprising that 75% of respondents make financial decisions without adequately considering risk factors associated with a financial product, while almost half did not understand the costs involved. These findings are obviously a concern to the Bank as they undermine informed judgments by financial consumers. I raise these observations today because financial advisers clearly have a key role in addressing these concerns. Indeed, you have a professional obligation to your clients to present clear, unbiased and objective information to help your clients make informed decisions. The Bank intends to address these issues aggressively, through regulatory improvements, education, more intensive reviews of sales practices and continued enforcement actions. With effect from the second half of 2015, financial advisers and insurance and takaful brokers will also be brought within the scope of the Financial Ombudsman Scheme that will be approved under the Financial Services Act, providing an avenue for consumers to address complaints against advisers for non-disclosures or misrepresentations.