Four-and-a-half years after the launch of Professional Planner magazine and it is time for a new look, fresh feel and a reaffirmation of exactly what the publication stands for.

When our first issue landed on your desk in October of 2007, PP believed financial planning was an industry in need of reform and in need of transformation so that in the eyes of the wider public it was regarded as a profession.

Colin Tate, chief executive and group publisher of Conexus Financial, believed then that the public needed to be able to trust any individual or company they came across.

“After several high-profile industry collapses and a change of government in Canberra, we have seen rapid change in sentiment, regulation and behavior,” he says.

“PP is proud to have played some modest role in all this, helping you to navigate the challenges along the way.

“We will continue to explore the key issues, both in print and online. And as of February, we will look a whole lot better.”

PP continues to strive to be recognised as a market leader, by whatever measure you choose.

External research data suggests that in a few short years we have become among the best in terms of total readership in the crowded business-to-business publishing environment.

“Conexus Financial, the company that publishes PP, is wholly Australian owned,” says Tate.

“In April last year I bought out my former partners in Conexus, and I now control the share register, with key senior staff owning the balance.

“Conexus is the most substantial media and conference business dedicated to the financial sector in Australia.

“We publish five domestic titles, one global title, and we stage more than a dozen conferences, in Australia and overseas.”

Highlights of the February edition of Professional Planner:

Cover story Bad apples beware
Find out how the newly-appointed ASIC commissioner, Peter Kell, will use the watchdog’s greater bite under FoFA to seek out and destroy the industry’s rogues.

Profile Horses for courses
Referral partnerships need time to flourish, and each develops in its own way and in its own time. Melbourne-based financial planner Chris Nairn explains why he believes it will be worth the effort.

Practice management How to clearly define what you do for your clients – and why
Discover why the respected industry consultant Martin Mulcare argues that knowing exactly why you do what you do is as important as knowing what you do.

Share market It will be all right in the long run, whenever that is
Learn why investment expert Ron Bewley thinks the long-term outlook for shares looks bright – but why he says there’s uncertainty over when the long term starts.

PLUS:

- Special reports on investing in small companies overseas; and why life after FoFA looks good for independent advisory firm
- Opinion from industry leaders Mark Rantall (FPA), Andrea Slattery (SPAA), Richard Klipin (AFA) and Robbie Campo (ISN)
- SMSF insights from Bryce Fogot (DBA Lawyers) and Tony Negline (SUPERCentral)
- Analysis of how competition is driving risk providers to embrace fee for service