Institute of Financial Advisers president Lyn McMorran says the association is delighted to have a new Commissioner named even if the job search is still underway.

Annabel Cotton, a member of the Securities Commission and company director, was named the new Commissioner of Financial Advisers yesterday but other commitments mean she will only serve a one-year term.

“If it’s only an interim appointment, at least it gets things moving,” Ms McMorran says.

She praised Ms Cotton’s willingness to engage with the industry and said she hoped the eventual appointee would be someone like her, who without being too involved in the industry already was prepared to talk to advisers and not dictate the terms of new regulation.

“We don’t necessarily have to go right back to square one.”

The momentum of new regulation will now pick up pace to ensure advisers are covered by October next year, Ms McMorran says.