Certification Application - Financial advisory groups

The Responsible Investment Association Australasia's (RIAA's) Responsible Investment Certification Program is the leading initiative for distinguishing quality responsible, ethical and impact investment products and services in Australia and New Zealand. It is the longest running responsible investment program in the world.

Financial advisers bearing the RIAA Certification Symbol have committed to offering responsible and ethical advice to all their clients, have undertaken appropriate training and are experienced in offering specialist advice, and have responsible investment products, including RIAA-certified products on their approved product list.

Financial advisory group certification requirements

Financial Advisory Groups who would like to externally validate their skills and systems for the provision of responsible investment advice can apply to be certified and use, under license, the Certification Symbol. To succeed, applicants must demonstrate that they have the systems and product offerings in place that enable the professional management and servicing of clients interested in responsible investing. In the process of seeking certification, applicants are often empowered to establish or refine their skills, systems and product offerings to achieve the same.

Certified RI Financial Advisory Groups must:

1. Be legal - hold a current Australian Financial Services Licence.

2. Be trained and/or experienced - have at a minimum 50% of their advisers certified as responsible investment financial advisers under the RIAA Certification Program. (See requirements for individual Financial Adviser Certification).

3. Support their network - Financial Advisory Groups are committed to and enable the provision of regular specialist responsible investment training to their adviser network.

4. Provide responsible investment products - include responsible investment products on their approved product list (or equivalent) including RIAA-certified products.

5. Promote responsible investment services - include appropriate questions on responsible investing in their Financial Advisory Group Fact Find (or equivalent) that is used by ALL their advisers to ALL clients. For the full detail of the Responsible Investment Standard across all categories please click here.

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Full Name*

Position*

Email*

Date*

Financial Advisory Group name*

AFSL or FSP License Number*

How many registered advisers are in your organisation*

Please list any professional bodies which your organisation is a member of*

In what year was your organisation established*

Please list your RIAA certified advisers*

Provide at least two examples of ways you have supported your Group's advisers to increase their capability in offering responsible investment advice, and speaking with their clients about their values, over the past 12 months e.g. Specific training, responsible investment-specific webinar attendance, support attendance at RIAA Conference. Include a short summary of the content*

First Example*

Second example*

Third example (optional)

Fourth example (optional)

Do you undertake to support and encourage your adviser network by providing information and opportunities for them to undertake continuing professional development in responsible investment?*

Outline how you intend to facilitate the ongoing education needs of your advisers over the next 12-24 months*

Please provide evidence of ongoing education you support e.g. link to recording, webinar, evidence of responsible investment resources on internal intranet, enrolment records.

Responsible Investment Certification Program requires that financial advisory groups include appropriate questions in client interview process specifically to discover if the client would like to consider environmental, social, ethical, labour standard, sustainability or governance issues in their investment decisions.

Certified Advisory Groups are expected to have a responsible investment policy which outlines this process across the organisation and a standalone responsible investment Fact Find.

Do you undertake to promote responsible investment across all clients organisation?*

Outline the process by which advisers in your group question their clients about their ESG preferences

Please attach a copy of your Fact Find, client survey or equivalent. This should include questions related to responsible investment

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Please list the responsible investment products on your approved product list or provide attached to your application*

Please outline the process for assessing or reviewing products to be included on your approved product list *

How often do you review the products included on your APL?*

What is the process with advising/communicating to clients if one of their holdings (eg. an ETF) has a process change, or a company is involved in controversy or misconduct? *

How do you obtain information about responsible investment products in the market ?*

Please outline how you distribute information to your advisers about responsible investment products or developments*

Do you advise or direct retail client monies to any unlisted vehicles, unregulated products or products provided by unregulated entities in Australia or New Zealand?*

Do you undertake to incorporate the Certification Symbol into your marketing and communications material in accordance with the Certification Symbol Licensee Agreement and the Licensee Marketing Kit and Style Guide*

Do you promote responsible investment publicly to your clients and potential clients ?*

Please outline how you do this. This could include webpages, blogs, newsletters etc, please include links or upload examples below

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Ongoing Compliance Declarations

By submitting this application, you agree to the compliance declarations outlined below:
To promote responsible investment to all of clients
To continue to pursue professional development in the field of responsible investment
To use the Certification Symbol in accordance with the Licensee Marketing Kit and Style Guide
That the answers provided in this application are truthful, accurate, reliable and complete at the time of submission
That you have read, understood and agree to the Program Code of Conduct outlined in the Certification Application guide.

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Certification Application - Financial Advisory groups

Financial advisory group certification requirements

Certified RI Financial Advisory Groups must:

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