Bull markets don’t fizzle out, they go ‘pop’: Why we’re not at the top yet
TS Eliot was briefly a banker but not an expert on markets. No investor would have said “this is the way the world ends, not with a bang but with a whimper”. Not the investment world. Bull markets don’t fizzle out, they go pop, which is why I don’t think we’re at the top yet. Maturing
August 18, 2015
Online advice and applications underpin QSuper’s financial planning push
As industry super funds increasingly expand their financial planning offerings, not-for-profit fund QSuper’s rollout of online and app-driven advice tools are attracting as many as 210 members per day. The Queensland-based fund caters primarily to the state’s public sector employees, has around 540,000 members and $59 billion in funds under management. Its approach has started
August 14, 2015
Why CPA Australia wants to change the future of financial planning
Over the past decade we have witnessed too many Australian consumers suffer as a result of poor financial advice; and in more recent times we have seen too many media reports about the failings of large financial planning institutions. CPA Australia’s commentaries and actions on these key issues of public policy have always been underpinned
August 14, 2015
Collision course: what financial planning can learn from football. Yes, really.
Because of where I was born, I display certain characteristics and I have some habits that puzzle and perplex and sometimes infuriate those who know me and even those few who love me. I observe some customs and practices that others find difficult to understand and which occasionally cause conflict. But I can’t help it.
August 14, 2015
Whether it’s a friend or foe of financial planners, robo-advice is coming
Robo-advice looms large on the radar of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), according to Louise Macaulay, a senior executive of the regulator’s financial advice team. The term robo-advice refers specifically to automated financial advice delivered without the involvement of a human adviser, usually through the use of complex algorithms. However, in Australia, the
August 13, 2015
Lump sums versus retirement income: try the nudge rather than enforcement
There’s a fine line between educating investors and coercing – even strong-arming – them into certain patterns of behaviour. Take lump sums. A diverse range of organisations including the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA), CPA Australia, the Actuaries Institute, and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) have all raised concerns about the extent
August 13, 2015
IMAP workshop to guide planning businesses through the ins and outs of setting up a managed account
The ins and outs of integrating a managed account offering to an advice practice will be canvassed in a workshop and webinar produced by the Institute of Managed Account Providers (IMAP), to be held next Tuesday. The workshop and webinar at OneVue’s offices in the Sydney CBD will be led by Claire Wivell Plater, managing
August 13, 2015
Industry fund UniSuper throws down the gauntlet to risk advisers
A life insurance tele-underwriting deal with TAL will enable UniSuper to provide more risk advice outside super, says executive manager of advice and employer relationships, Jack McCartney. He says tele-underwriting will create greater efficiencies, enabling the advice to be offered under the super fund’s overarching fee-for-service model. “We want to bring our fee down as much as
August 11, 2015
Mind the gaps, and sell financial planning for its benefits
Financial planning suddenly seems to be full of holes. Or, perhaps more accurately, gaps – gaps in people’s financial literacy; and gaps in the adequacy of savings. They’re not the same sorts of gaps, of course. One is a lack of understanding or knowledge; the other is an actual dollar shortfall. But they seem to
August 11, 2015
Why creating a truly ethical business is about actions, not words
I think it is obvious that a professional is expected to behave ethically. In fact, the definition of a “profession” adopted by Professions Australia opens with: “A profession is a disciplined group of individuals who adhere to ethical standards…” But what do we mean by “ethics”? There are many different definitions, perceptions and opinions about
August 11, 2015
Asset-based fees hamper efforts to eliminate financial planning cowboys
Not enough is being done to stamp out all forms of conflicted remuneration from financial planning, according to consumer advocacy group CHOICE. Erin Turner, CHOICE campaigns manager, last week joined Mark Rantall, chief executive officer of the Financial Planning Association (FPA) in a discussion of the sector’s professional and education standards. Turner indicated the consumer
August 08, 2015
Frydenberg urges life insurers to help advisers transition and pass on savings to consumers
The Assistant Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, has called on the life insurance industry to assist financial planners and advisers adjust to reforms of the retail life insurance industry arising from the Trowbridge report. And he has said the government expects cost savings arising from the reforms to be passed on to consumers, and is working on
August 08, 2015
