Cyber insurance a ‘must have’ – but can’t be the first line of defence
Cyber insurance is vital for repairing the damage and meeting the costs of a cyberattack, but practices and licensees need to tighten up their digital controls and train staff better to protect against incidents.
September 11, 2025
SMSF Association calls for govt funding of CSLR
The SMSF Association has called for the government and other AFCA subsectors to “meet the shortfall” of Compensation Scheme of Last Resort claims, which will require a $47 million special levy. The association argues the inequitable design of the system means there is no reason other subsectors shouldn’t contribute.
September 11, 2025
Client satisfaction offers compounding returns for advisers
Client satisfaction offers a compounding return for advice practices, as levels rise the longer the relationship progresses. However, high satisfaction doesn’t automatically prevent clients from leaving and research presented to the Netwealth Accelerate Summit showed how advisers can create loyalty that lasts.
September 10, 2025
Shield, First Guardian need to be factored into refreshed conflicts guidance: FAAA
High-profile failures like Dixon Advisory and Shield and First Guardian should be factored into ASIC’s refreshed conflicts management guidance, according to the Financial Advice Association Australia. The guidance, which hasn’t been updated for two decades, shows the need to factor in these recent failures particularly with models that have embedded conflicts, the FAAA argues.
September 10, 2025
What ice hockey and Macquarie’s infrastructure investment philosophy have in common
In ice hockey, having a 'first mover, skate-to-where-the-puck-is-going' approach means reading the game and anticipating what the next move will be rather than reacting to what has already happened. Macquarie has adopted this attitude to investing, which is most evident in the group’s infrastructure business, having been an early investor in digital infrastructure assets including data centres, data registries and fibre networks.
September 10, 2025
Getting to the next generation before TikTok does
Millennial and Gen Z consumers want to get financial advice from sources they trust, but that doesn’t automatically mean they’ll defer to a professional. With two thirds of funds under advice at risk of leaving practices in the intergenerational wealth transfer, advisers who step up now will build life-long relationships.
September 09, 2025
FAAA wants protections for advice businesses in govt non-compete reform review
As the government canvasses feedback on its plans to reform the law around non-compete clauses in employee contracts, the Financial Advice Association Australia has warned that the interests of employees needed to be balanced against the interests of the employer’s business. The FAAA suggested non-solicitation clauses in employment agreements should be capped at 12 months after an employees leaves a company, and that professional year advisers should be restricted from working for a competitor for two years after completing their PY.
September 09, 2025
‘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
