Does the S&P/ASX 200 have the energy to make 6000 stick?
Remember just a few months ago when one big broking house was calling oil prices to fall to $20 while, at the same time, another was forecasting $200? There is nothing new in attention-seeking forecasts – it’s a bit like a girl wearing “killer” heels or a young man driving “that” sports car! Those of
May 22, 2015
Conexus Financial Superannuation Awards: Silk commits to more services and decreasing costs
Ian Silk, chief executive of AustralianSuper, attributed his fund’s success at the Conexus Financial Super Awards Evening to its ability to maximize the potential of its scale. His fund won three awards at the ceremony in Sydney; large fund of the year, default fund of the year and overall fund of the year. Speaking to
May 21, 2015
Conexus Financial Superannuation Awards: Christensen named CIO of the year
Success in current investment markets might mean choosing a strategy that only pays off in three years’ time, according to Jim Christensen, chief investment officer of Telstra Super. Christensen was speaking after collecting his award for chief investment officer of the year at the Conexus Financial Superannuation Awards Evening. “No one has got simple answers,”
May 21, 2015
Conexus Financial Superannuation Awards: MTAA turnaround wins it medium-sized fund of the year
MTAA Super has gone from the point of collapse to winning best medium-sized super fund in a remarkable turnaround of fortunes. Both the fund’s chair, John Brumby, and its chief executive officer, Leeanne Turner (on the left in the picture), paid tribute to MTAA’s staff, management and board who had put in dedicated and sustained
May 21, 2015
Conexus Financial Superannuation Awards: AustralianSuper named Fund of the Year
The winners of the third annual Conexus Financial Superannuation Awards were announced last night in a ceremony at Ivy Ballroom in Sydney, with 300 guests in attendance. Awards were handed out across nine categories, with the night’s biggest award going to AustralianSuper for overall fund of the year. This night’s top fund was determined from
May 21, 2015
AMP SMSF increases education and accreditation for advisers
AMP SMSF is partnering with the SMSF Association to launch a new SMSF education and accreditation program for AMP aligned advisers and their support staff. The program, which commenced this week, will allow AMP¹s 3800 aligned advisers to increase their knowledge and skills in specialist SMSF advice. This up-skilling will be independently certified by the
May 20, 2015
FEATURE In at the deep end: Barrett jumps into the financial planning profit pool
In about a year’s time, Paul Barrett’s Next Generation Advisory (NGA) could be an investor in as many as a dozen high-quality financial planning businesses. The restriction on NGA’s growth will be its physical capacity to complete transactions, not the scarcity of potential targets. Barrett will spend up to $100 million acquiring assets in the
May 20, 2015
We live in interesting times, but if only bonds were boring again
Government bonds are supposed to be boring. They are designed to provide a predictable income with less capital volatility than either the debt issued by companies or their shares. That is why the recent events have come as such a shock to investors. It’s been too exciting. Nowhere more so than in the usually staid
May 20, 2015
Another non-aligned financial planning licensee abandons upfront risk commissions
Fortnum Financial Advisers will scrap upfront commissions on life insurance advice from July 1 2015, becoming the latest Australian Financial Services licensee to make the change. It follows similar announcements from AMP and Centrepoint Alliance at the start of May. Ray Miles, executive chairman of Fortnum, believes the financial planning industry has only a very
May 18, 2015
The cheque list: What is the real value of your financial planning business?
A thriving practice growing at an annual rate of 10 per cent with a profit of $300,000 is definitely worth more than a stagnating or declining business with the same annual profit. Yet historically, both have attracted similar prices and multiples, using the much quoted three-times recurring revenue or 4-6 times earnings before interest and
May 18, 2015
How to avoid putting self-managed super fund beneficiaries in a bind
Section 59(1) of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (Cth) provides that generally only a trustee can exercise discretion under a super fund’s governing rules. Therefore, a binding death benefit nomination (BDBN) appears to be not allowed, because it involves someone other than a trustee (that is, the member) exercising discretion (that is, to whom
May 18, 2015
Discussing uncomfortable truths can be the key to effective estate planning
Allaying fears about whether a client’s daughter will be at risk of attack after inheriting around $500,000 is just one real-life example of estate planning advice cited by Gil Gordon, principal of RI Lower Hunter. “Our industry, because it’s so focused on product and strategy, has missed the opportunity to say to the families ‘what
May 15, 2015
