The increasing strength and importance of the self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) sector is now being formally recognised on more than one front by the big players in the market, including the Federal Government.
Written by Garry Weaven
My New Year’s resolution is to increase my advocacy of green investment. Let me also immediately declare an interest, in that Industry Funds Management (IFM) has been a long-term investor in green energy through its ownership of Pacific Hydro, which is a leading developer and operator of wind power and run-of-river hydro in four countries.
I am a director of Pacific Hydro. Does that declaration tarnish my advocacy? Well maybe, but in reality, advocacy is not driven by the economic interest. Rather, the reverse is true - the economic interest of IFM on behalf of its investors is driven by the facts, the most important of which is the accelerating level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, closely correlated with the burning of fossil fuels to accommodate burgeoning global economic growth.
Written by Deen Sanders
One key recommendation outlined in the Parliamentary Joint Committee (PJC) Inquiry into financial products and services report relates to the need for a legislated fiduciary responsibility between financial planner and client. Since the release of the report, the speculation about what this means exactly has run rampant.
The Financial Planning Association (FPA) called for the establishment of a true fiduciary standard in our own submission to the PJC Inquiry, having adopted a fiduciary standard in our revised Code of Ethics. It’s a good thing that people are thinking about what a “fiduciary” responsibility for financial advice really means.
