MLC Life hires remediation GM
MLC Life Insurance has appointed Ian Fletcher as general manager of remediation programs.
December 11, 2023
Dexus appoints CEO
Real estate asset manager Dexus has appointed Ross Du Vernet as CEO and executive director, effective from March 2024.
December 11, 2023
Labor deserves credit for attempting advice reform
Minister for Financial Services Stephen Jones’ two-year campaign to find some solution for the millions of Australians priced out of financial advice has been far from perfect, and his bold plan for a two-tiered model demands scrutiny. But wrestling daily with one of the nation’s most complex legal problems, while balancing the interests of a slew of lobbyists with public and internal party critics, is no mean feat.
December 08, 2023
Breaking the ‘living heart’ of investing
The classic 60/40 portfolio allocation to equities and bonds has drawn scrutiny since the Covid-19 pandemic due to bonds providing little defensive resilience. But the Professional Planner Researcher Forum has heard the love for bonds could be back.
December 08, 2023
FSCP hands out first published banning order
The Financial Services and Credit Panel has published its first banning order against an adviser, on the grounds they are insolvent under administration.
December 08, 2023
NGS Super hit with additional licence conditions from APRA
APRA has imposed additional licence conditions on NGS Super over its lack of cyber controls.
December 08, 2023
‘No rollback’: Govt defends bold but contentious advice reforms
Minister for Financial Services Stephen Jones said his unexpected plan to legislate much of the Quality of Advice Review and welcome banks and insurers back to the advice market is “absolutely consistent” with the landmark consumer protection reforms of the past decade. But the government faces criticism from the advice profession over its proposal of a two-tiered system based on a diploma-level sub-class bizarrely dubbed “qualified advice”.
December 07, 2023
‘Qualified’ adviser proposal is a slap in the face of the profession
Professional Planner was created to support the development of an advice profession, fighting for those who committed to professionalism to have the right to call themselves professionals. The publication's founding editor Simon Hoyle writes while increased access to advice is to be welcomed, describing people who don’t meet the higher standards of a profession as “qualified” sends a confusing signal to the Australian public.
December 07, 2023
Super performance test shakeup on the card for government
The federal government has opened up to the idea of fine tuning the superannuation performance test, to account for member outcomes without holding back investment in economic priorities such as the net zero transformation and housing, following the third Treasurer’s Investor Roundtable in Canberra.
December 06, 2023
An ‘utter disaster’ to impose YFYS-style benchmarks on retirement income products
Making meaningful comparisons between products designed to deliver lifetime income to superannuation fund members in retirement is complex. The Professional Planner Researcher Forum has heard that trying to impose a benchmark as simple as the current Your Future Your Super performance test would be an “utter disaster”.
December 06, 2023
CALI calls for QAR-like advice options for insurers
With further government announcements for the Quality of Advice Review pending, the Council of Australian Life Insurers wants a similar deal for insurers as Stream Two offers super funds, and has proposed allowing insurers to give limited advice directly to consumers.
December 06, 2023
