"Finance is not just numbers on a computer screen or just a means to receive a commission or a bonus," he said.

"And because we are dealing with other people's money, we must never forget that financial risks can, and often are, catastrophic to real people," he said.

Mr Shipton said ASIC was prepared to use further "policy tools" to lift professionalism, but another way is for the industry itself to "promote and perhaps even require professionalism within their ranks".

Mr Shipton said there was a "window of opportunity for the industry to take the lead without the imposition of a regulatory catalyst".

Steve Spurr, the chief executive of Edleman, the biggest public relations firm in the world, told the forum that its latest survey shows financial services is the second-least trusted industry by the Australian public,  with the energy sector the least trusted of all.