Funeral policies increasingly ignored as families cash in
While proposed legislation on funeral rights languishes in state parliament, people are ignoring the wishes of their loved ones and pocketing funds from funeral insurance claims, Anna Hacker says.
February 26, 2019
‘Money for jam days are over’: Ripoll
The ex-Labor MP lamented that despite efforts to kill commissions, “the opposite happened”. FoFA 2.0 is coming on the heels of the royal commission, he says, and an end to “rubbish”.
February 25, 2019
In their own words: A whole new ball game
It was Brad V Brad. Wira was known on the field as a "tagger", and they called Johnson the "Smiling Assassin". Working together as financial adviser and client is a change-up for these two former fierce competitors.
February 24, 2019
BT advice strategy shaped by documentation costs: Cooper
Westpac's strategy relating to advice ownership has been shaped by the rising expense and complexity of advice documentation, BT chief executive Brad Cooper reveals.
February 21, 2019
No more ‘whingeing’; SMSFs about more than franking credits
The SMSF Association’s Jordan George says that while Labor’s franking credit policy is unfair, people should stop complaining and refocus on the ‘greater rationale’ behind self-directed funds.
February 21, 2019
$500K SMSF minimum ‘completely arbitrary’
Industry heads roundly criticised the Productivity Commission’s $500,000 minimum SMSF benchmark, but were warned that if an agreement wasn’t reached a ‘blunt instrument’ would come.
February 20, 2019
APRA funds take note: married couples like SMSFs
Almost 90 per cent of the 1.1 million ATO-regulated self-managed super funds are set up by married couples who have pooled their assets, something APRA-regulated funds don’t allow.
February 19, 2019
Advisers should direct trustees to ATO courses: ASIC
The regulator says advisers should be encouraging would-be SMSF trustees to undertake ATO online training. The SMSF Association’s Liam Shorte agrees and says the sooner the better.
February 19, 2019
Successful investing means imagining everything that can go wrong
Assessing risk in stocks works much better with a methodology that uses a temporal perspective, Tassos Stassopoulos says. Imagine you have already failed, and ask yourself why.
February 18, 2019
Cash should be simple, be wary when it’s not
In a world where cash rates have been at record lows for record periods, it should come as no surprise some providers are trying to dress up complex, riskier products as safe yield.
February 18, 2019
