‘Badvisers’, bad apples and banishment: Promoting a healthier profession
There is a propensity for the uninformed and naysayers to view the adviser profession through the prism of ‘badvisers’ with recent scandals like the Shield and First Guardian collapses doing little to assuage concerns. Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer partner Michael Vrisakis writes it’s time to do more to recognise and acknowledge that the vast adviser population in Australia are committed, competent and centred on bettering the financial outcomes of their clients.
September 08, 2025
Mayfair 101 director handed further 15-year restraint
Mayfair 101 Group director James Mawhinney will be unable to promote or raise funds for financial products for a further 15 years after his restraint orders were extended. But despite the court finding he had a “willingness to adopt a reckless approach to the conduct of a financial services business”, Mawhinney still intends to appeal the decision.
September 08, 2025
Where advisers add most value. Hint: it’s not investing
The 2025 iteration of Russell Investments’ Value of an Adviser Index reinforces the idea that the things advisers do that add most value for – and build most trust with – clients actually have very little to do with the task of managing money. Yet this is in area that poses significant risk to advisers and their businesses, and many persist with handling it themselves.
September 05, 2025
Govt accused of ‘brazenly burying’ managed investment schemes report
Shadow Minister for Financial Services Pat Conaghan has accused the Albanese Government of failing to protect consumers by not releasing its review into the regulation of managed investment schemes, completed 18 months ago. The Coalition MP argued if the government had moved faster, then the devastating financial losses seen in the collapse of Shield and First Guardian master funds could have been avoided.
September 05, 2025
The advice profession should not be left carrying the can for Shield, First Guardian
Any licensed financial advisers ultimately found to be complicit in the consumer harm caused by the collapse of Shield and First Guardian have done their peers a grave disservice and deserve to be brought to justice. But the $1.2 billion scandal was caused by failures right through the supply chain – including the corporate regulator itself – so blame should not be levelled at the feet of advisers alone.
September 04, 2025
The two big advice trends shaping Netwealth CEO’s worldview
The advice gap and a difference in expectations between clients and their advisers are the two trends Netwealth CEO Matt Heine sees shaping financial advice. He told the Netwealth Accelerate Summit on Thursday these are the big picture issues he hopes they industry can work together to solve.
September 04, 2025
Reframe AI to replace $500-an-hour – not $15-an-hour – tasks
AI has been embraced as a way of completing simple tasks more efficiently. But Pathfindr CEO Dawid Naude, an expert who has consulted for major corporations and governments, told the Netwealth Accelerate Summit that AI should be replacing tasks that cost $500 an hour, not $15.
September 04, 2025
Shield, First Guardian investors received allegedly fraudulent SOAs
Investors who suffered losses in the Shield and First Guardian scandal may have received Statements of Advice that appear to have been wrongly or falsely attributed to financial advisers who are currently under investigation by the corporate regulator. An investigation by Professional Planner reveals one victim of the collapsed scheme never spoke to or met with the adviser whose name and company appears on the SOA provided to her.
September 03, 2025
Hayne royal commission no laughing matter for super funds
AustralianSuper CEO Paul Schroder’s invocation of Kenneth Hayne’s financial services royal commission in a high-profile national speech might have been in jest. But Lachlan Maddock writes as the sector – and the $400 billion mega-fund he leads – comes under rightful scrutiny over poor member service standards, it could come back to haunt him.
September 03, 2025
How a ‘push rather than a pull’ from its network saw Morgans expand its wealth offering
Morgans is well-known as a stockbroking firm, but demand from its network saw it improves its capabilities to support holistic wealth offerings. Making these changes a decade ago has seen Morgans become one of the most desirable licensees, according to CoreData’s annual licensee satisfaction research.
September 02, 2025
CSLR special levy doesn’t fix ‘fundamental flaws’ in funding model: FAAA
The Financial Advice Association Australia has used a submission to Treasury to push back against breaching the sector funding cap for financial advisers while warning that changes to the special levy would not address deep-rooted problems with the CSLR.
September 02, 2025
