Risk disclosure in an SoA is not optional and not formulaic. The Corporations Act requires advisers to explain the significant risks associated with recommended products and strategies in terms specific to the client's circumstances. This article explains what that means in practice.

Under the best interests duty, an adviser must identify the client's relevant circumstances before providing advice. This article explains which client circumstances must be documented in an SoA, how specific that documentation needs to be, and the common gaps that lead to compliance findings.

The Corporations Act identifies two distinct disclosure obligations that must appear in every SoA: remuneration disclosure and conflict of interest disclosure. A third obligation, referral fee disclosure, is one of the most commonly missed requirements in practice.

The mandatory content requirements for an SoA are set out in sections 947B and 947C of the Corporations Act 2001. This article works through each of those requirements in plain terms: what the law says, what ASIC expects to see, and where advisers most often come unstuck.