How Nest is solving ‘the hardest problem in investment’
Nest Invest chief executive Mark Fawcett said the UK auto-enrolment scheme will launch its guided retirement product over the next few years, pairing a 20-year drawdown portfolio with a deferred annuity as it attempts to solve one of the hardest problems in pension investing.
Fewer but better-quality advisers a solid foundation for the future
Financial adviser numbers have stopped falling, and the profession now has a solid base on which to rebuild. The overall standard of remaining advisers is better than it was a decade ago, and new entrants are also higher quality than in the past. But improving access to advice in the near term will hinge on productivity gains rather than growth in adviser numbers.
Profiles and pitches of 18 candidates for the FAAA board of directors for 2026
The 2026 election for three seats at the FAAA board of directors has attracted 18 candidates. Here is their profiles and main pitch points for the 2026 election. CEO and managing director of Kingdom Financial Group Ben Ellingsen serves as treasurer of The Advisers Association. He has been chair of the Wide Bay Federal Divisional
‘But-for’ compensation will live on, just not at the CSLR
The Australian Financial Complaints Authority will continue to issue controversial “but-for” determinations after 30 June next year, even though investors who lodge complaints with it after that date will not be eligible for “but for” compensation from the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort. This is one of the reforms aimed at putting the CSLR on a more sustainable financial footing, and at easing the funding burden on the advice sector.
Regulator ‘closely scrutinising’ Sequoia’s second crack at selling InterPrac
In a second go at offloading its beleaguered financial advice licensee InterPrac, listed wealth management group Sequoia Financial has sold the business to Bellbird Australia. A deed of cross-guarantee with other entities in the Sequoia group has been revoked, raising the concerns of investors seeking compensation for losses in the failed Shield and First Guardian master funds.
Pressure mounts on Big Tech’s role in Shield and First Guardian
Unlicensed financial advice and harmful lead generation on social media and in AI-enabled chat threads are emerging as yet another concerning cultural development that governments, households and financial professionals must grapple with as part of Silicon Valley’s social reckoning.
Transforming to serve 100,000 clients takes more than a rebrand
To achieve transformational change, advice businesses need four essential ingredients: direct client relationships, scale, capital and transformation capability. Until now, no advice business has possessed all four.
CSLR waterfall model gets qualified FAAA thumbs-up
Proposals for waterfall funding arrangements for the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort have received qualified support from the Financial Advice Association Australia, which says the financial advice subsector liability must be reassessed to avoid undue financial burden falling on a small business sector that has already funded a $20 million subsector cap.
Claude for Advisors hints at a bigger problem than just meeting prep
If advice businesses need an AI orchestrator like Claude for Financial Advisors to connect multiple systems in order to gather information for client meetings, then the problem they have is not just prepping for meetings, but the multitude of systems and fragmented data.
Brighter Super adds indexed options in further support for advisers
The addition of two new indexed investment options by the $38 billion profit-to-member super fund Brighter Super follow its Adviser-Ready certification and Epic Retirement Tick and continue a deliberate decision to work with external financial advisers rather than compete with them.
Researcher Forum
Advice Policy Summit
This event is open to CEOs and senior leaders of financial planning licensees, dealer groups and boutique advice firms, along with C-suite executives in superannuation funds with oversight of advice, education and guidance.
Why the personal conversation matters in financial advice
Having the answer to a client’s problem isn’t always the same as being helpful. Nicole Bendeich writes that simply providing clients with more information is not the same as understanding their fears and what gets in the way of making a decision.
Industry
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So long and farewell
Several months ago, I made the difficult personal decision to step down as Professional Planner editor. While I look forward to my future plans, it has been bittersweet to leave behind a masthead I have loved leading and a financial advice profession I have great respect for.
Risk
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How pro bono advice delivers a helping hand in tough times
Navigating the world of insurance claims can be daunting, especially for people facing significant health or financial challenges. Financial adviser Natalie Lackner volunteered for the Pro Bono Financial Advice Network to help those in need secure access to advice.
Superannuation