Industry Updates

Size matters and advisers prefer small licensees

After years of annual net losses of advice licensees following the Hayne royal commission, 2023 was the first to buck the trend. Experts believe this will continue to be the case with adviser numbers having stablised and practices preferring to be self-licensed or part of a smaller AFSL.

January 24, 2024

Insignia tops table for retirement exposure among super funds

All super funds are being called on by the government and regulator to make more progress on providing retirement income solutions to members. But APRA data shows funds have starkly differing levels of exposure to retirement. Those with relatively more members in pension phase, such as Insignia Financial and Colonial First State, may have an advantage in this difficult but important sphere.

January 24, 2024

Adviser exam changes to go ahead

ASIC has announced it will implement the government’s amendments to the adviser exam, which had received strong support from industry associations.

January 24, 2024

Northern Trust raids Robeco for quantitative solutions talents

Northern Trust Asset Management has appointed Milan Vidojevic as its director of quantitative solutions, international.

January 24, 2024

Advice firm Alteris appoints JANA as investment consultant

Wealth management firm Alteris Financial Group has appointed JANA as its investment consultant.

January 24, 2024

Show and tell is the key to client confidence

Advisers are typically more confident than their clients that they are on-track to meet their goals and objectives, according to research from Effortless Engagement. Their report suggests three simple actions that practices can implement to bridge this gap, which are being prevented by systemic shortcomings in the advice process.

January 23, 2024

Growth strategy still unclear for big retail super funds

Combining size and flow rates creates a rich picture of the super fund landscape, from which four distinct quadrants can be extrapolated depending on their asset size and growth trajectory. Research from The Conexus Institute finds while big retail funds such as Colonial First State, AMP and Insignia still have scale, they are losing market share and need a strategy to stem the outflows to both smaller retail platforms and big industry funds.

January 23, 2024

Diverger shareholders approve Count acquisition

Diverger shareholders have voted to approve the 100 per cent acquisition of Count which was announced last year.

January 23, 2024

Australians happy to use super to pay for advice: CFS research

Research from Colonial First State has found 93 per cent of Australians believe people need financial advice and almost two in three are interested in using the funds in their super to pay for that advice.

January 23, 2024

Collective punishment and lessons from the PwC scandal a year on

Exactly a year ago today, the professional services world was shocked by scandal when it was found former PwC partner Peter Collins disclosed confidential information as a government tax adviser. Tom Ravlic writes the incident is a reminder about making reactive policy decisions and the collateral damage that can cause.

January 22, 2024

Retirement confidence decoupled from returns, but access to capital is key

Retirement confidence in Australia has declined over the past 12 months despite stronger investment markets, according to research from SSGA. The report argues in an environment of high inflation and rising costs of living, the retirement income option that appeals to most people is one that allows flexible access to capital early on and stable income later.

January 22, 2024