The Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) has lambasted the Hayne royal commission’s negative portrayal of the sector.

It has accused the commission of failing to acknowledge the relatively small number of complaints managed by the corporate regulator and external dispute schemes.

GM Policy and Professionalism Phil Anderson says all advisers should be concerned at the way financial advice has been treated in the commission’s final report.

He criticises its failure to acknowledge the many good advisers and the benefits they provide, and its apparent ignorance of the fact advisers cannot be paid without written client approval.

The commission’s opinion of the financial advice profession is disturbing, he says.

The final report says the industry has moved from scandal to scandal, causing financial harm to clients and damaging public confidence in financial advice.

But Mr Anderson says the commission ignored the AFA’s many efforts to provide examples of good financial advice.

“We went to particular lengths, in many of our submissions, to talk about the financial, emotional and behavioural benefits of financial advice.

“However, it appears this fell on deaf ears.”

The report says platform operators deduct ongoing service fees from client accounts and remit them to advisers without any authority beyond the licensee’s claim to be entitled to payment.

This suggests the royal commission has not viewed the forms in product disclosure statements where clients sign to approve ongoing service fees, the AFA says.

“We explained the authorisation contained in the application form in our interim report submission,” Mr Anderson said. “However, once again this was ignored.”

The report also seems to disapprove of client books as tradeable assets. Mr Anderson says advisers should be free to realise the value of their company like any other business owner.

The royal commission suggests that payment of advice fees from superannuation accounts shows consumers do not value the advice they receive.

“Managing cashflow is a critical issue for many everyday Australian clients,” Mr Anderson said.

“Not everyone is on the salary of a judge or a high-powered lawyer, with free cashflow to pay for financial advice.”

The AFA warns the royal commission’s comments will have a long-term impact, with industry fund CareSuper already rolling out adverts criticising fees for no service.