Structuring retirement portfolios to align with income needs
Structuring a retirement portfolio begins with recognising that not all income sources are created equal, and requires a nuanced understanding of spending hierarchies and income sources. New retirement income products offer the features and flexibility to tailor solutions to clients’ specific spending and income needs.
September 02, 2025
Retirement advice moves beyond just a super balance
Financial advisers have been at the forefront of helping Australians accumulate wealth, and now there’s a growing opportunity to help them spend that money - and spend it with confidence - when they retire.
September 02, 2025
ASIC expands allegations against Shield, First Guardian adviser
Ferras Merhi, the former adviser alleged by ASIC to have earned almost $40 million for promoting and recommending the Shield and First Guardian master funds, has used a primetime TV program to plead he was a victim of poor due diligence by researchers and platforms. However, ASIC has painted a different picture, expanding its legal proceedings against the former InterPrac authorised representative.
September 01, 2025
Asia’s ultra-wealthy weigh up alternatives exposures
Alternatives have been a boon for Asian family offices chasing enhanced portfolio returns and diversification, but not everyone is ready to jump on board, as the range of allocations between family offices could range from 10 per cent to almost 100 per cent. According to global investment consultant Cambridge Associates, each family’s past experience with the asset class to some extent dictates their future commitments and advisers need to respect that preference.
September 01, 2025
Heavily hyped Dixon inquiry quietly scrapped
The so-called inquiry into the collapse of Dixon Advisory has been quietly scrapped, with the new Senate Economics References Committee, led by former Minister for Financial Services Jane Hume, declining to continue the review. The Financial Advice Association of Australia said ending the inquiry “betrays the victims” who put faith in the government to investigate product collapses and called for the review to not only be re-adopted, but to include the failures of the Shield and First Guardian master funds in its remit.
August 29, 2025
YFYS’s kaleidoscope of perverse outcomes shows need for reform
A mere seven products failed the latest iteration of the YFYS performance test, the results of which were released on Friday. Lachlan Maddock writes the test looks less and less fit for purpose as more and more funds learn to live within its constraints, but some of its biggest problems stem from its application to the smallest parts of the industry.
August 29, 2025
Count enters new era of productivity and scale
Count saw revenue rise 28 per cent as it successfully integrated the Diverger businesses and the SMA service that came with them. CEO Hugh Humphrey says that managed accounts, outsourcing, AI and automation have boosted productivity.
August 28, 2025
InterPrac last licensee standing as ASIC cancels another Shield-connected AFSL
ASIC has cancelled the license of MWL financial services for its role in advising clients to invest in the Shield Master Fund, which it called a “low cost advice project”. It leaves Sequoia-owned InterPrac as the only licensee connected to Shield to not be cancelled by the regulator.
August 28, 2025
Advisers weigh pros and cons of Div 296
The Albanese government will push ahead with its controversial plan to double the tax paid by super accounts above $3 million and include unrealised gains in its calculus. For advisers, the so-called 'div 296' changes create an opportunity to have tough conversations around estate planning with clients and meet the next generation, but they also just add to the complexity and uncertainty around super.
August 27, 2025
Calls for platforms to compensate Shield, First Guardian victims
A day after ASIC disclosed it was suing Equity Trustees for due diligence failures relating to Shield and First Guardian, consumer advocate Super Consumers Australia has called on trustees to hold themselves to account for their role in the collapse of the two funds and remediate clients directly.
August 27, 2025
Family comes first in multi-generational advice
There’s a well-worn saying in wealth circles: the first generation makes it, the second spends it, and the third blows it. But for advisory firms that specialise in high-end multi-generational wealth, the goal is to help families not only preserve their capital across generations but also protect relationships and maintain a shared sense of purpose, writes Minchin Moore’s Mark Minchin.
August 27, 2025
Shield, First Guardian fallout dominates ASIC’s FY26 strategy
Issues brought to light by the failures of the Shield and First Guardian master funds will dominate ASIC priorities this financial year, according to its FY26 corporate plan, with legal proceedings already brought against Equity Trustees for its alleged role in the collapse. ASIC will also be spending the next year probing AFSLs offering managed accounts and compliance with the education standard deadline.
August 27, 2025
