‘Double-whammy’: Adviser departures compounding client losses
One of the most common reasons advice firms lose clients is the departure of an adviser, according to a global study by Dimensional. The prevalence of non-solicitation agreements in Australian contracts gives some protection to businesses, but firms need to prioritise retaining talent.
March 31, 2022
Clients lack loyalty to digital advisers
Digitally advised clients are willing to switch to a human adviser but not the other way around according to a US study by Vanguard. The results suggest digital advice take-up will continue an up-hill climb to gain acceptance in Australia.
March 31, 2022
‘Big oversight’: Vertical integration notably absent from advice review
Addressing how vertically integrated business models are regulated will have to wait another day; the controversial product distribution method that came under heavy scrutiny during the Royal Commission is not mentioned in the advice review’s terms of reference.
March 30, 2022
Advisers to ‘compete’ in new dispute resolution reporting scheme
ASIC has finalised the rules around its new Internal Dispute Resolution reporting framework, which will see all advice groups send twice yearly updates to the regulator and "compete" on performance.
March 30, 2022
Political ‘fear’ holding back intrafund advice: Weaven
The Quality of Advice Review will investigate whether intrafund advice could be expanded but former ACTU assistant secretary and IFM Investors founder Garry Weaven believes funds lack “boldness” in providing advice and are in fear of being caught in the crossfire of a superannuation political battleground.
March 29, 2022
Regulatory architecture can’t cope with evolving consumer risks: ALRC
The Corporations Act wasn't built to cope with the need for regulation to evolve along with developments like consumers' increasing exposure to financial markets, says the ALRC.
March 29, 2022
Increasing access won’t dilute advice quality: Levy
The lawyer charged with leading the Quality of Advice Review says improving accessibility and affordability doesn't need to come at the expense of professionalism and advice quality, with "more effective regulation" and digital advice solutions key to bridging the gap.
March 28, 2022
Advice review could spell end to technological neutrality
Digital advice has been required to play by the same rules as human advisers, but the Quality of Advice Review has opened the door to lighter compliance requirements to improve adviser take-up of robo-services.
March 28, 2022
FASEA frustration leads to SAFAA name change
The Stockbrokers and Financial Advisers Association has rebranded to the Stockbrokers and Investment Advisers Association to better reflect its role in the industry. Chief executive Judith Fox says irritation with the now-defunct FASEA, which failed to understand how the association’s members fit into the advice ecosystem, was the catalyst for the name change.
March 25, 2022
Declining adviser exam pass rate hits new low
In June 2019 the inaugural FASEA exam had a pass rate of 90 per cent. The first undertaking with oversight from the corporate regulator has seen only 32.4 per cent pass as the downward trend of the pass rate continues into the ASIC era.
March 25, 2022
BID leaves advisers in awkward position of comparing SMSFs to APRA funds
Acting in the best interests of SMSF clients means understanding the YFYS performance test and doing comparable measures according to SuperConcepts. With the SMSF sector being larger than the Choice sector, the possibility of a similar test being applied to SMSFs can’t be discounted.
March 24, 2022
House price growth a drag on decumulation strategies
While retired Australians draw down their bank balances the value of their houses continues to grow, which means they aren’t sufficiently drawing down their full wealth during retirement according to research from the Productivity Commission.
March 24, 2022
