Financial planners the ‘new priests’ for clients seeking guidance
The future of financial advice – the profession and the businesses that operate in it – will be shaped by forces far more powerful than mere legislation, according to the futurist and managing director of the Global Directions think-tank, Keith Suter. Speaking at a superannuation round table, hosted by Conexus Financial, sponsored by Perpetual and
February 23, 2015
Weaven says tax break for rich ‘worst public policy since white Australia’
Superannuation tax breaks for the rich is the ‘worst piece of public policy since white Australia’, Garry Weaven pioneer of industry funds said at Conexus Financial’s 18th annual Investment Administration Conference, held last week. Addressing more than 200 superannuation professionals, Weaven said most countries view Australia’s system as close to perfection, but despite this significant
February 23, 2015
One man’s corruption is another man’s investment return. Does it pay to be ethical?
Does it pay to be “ethical” when investing? Browse the investment bookshelves and you will end up none the wiser. That’s because for every sober-looking volume promoting ethical investing, you’ll find another more interesting-looking book extolling the virtues of vice. The reality is somewhere in between, according to three professors at the London Business School
February 23, 2015
How financial planners can move beyond asset allocation to manage risk
Diversification is a powerful tool but far from a perfect one. Its shortcomings have been seared into investors’ collective memories thanks to the global financial crisis (GFC), when nearly every major asset class declined in value. The presence of systemic risk presented by crises such as the GFC is a major issue for advisers and
February 20, 2015
A for effort as the ECB finally delivers on QE
While the quantitative easing (QE) measures recently announced are better than hoped for, more needs to be done to address the eurozone’s structural problems. What action has the European Central Bank (ECB) taken? On 22 January, the ECB announced a massive program of QE. They’ve decided to purchase €60 billion of financial assets – mostly
February 20, 2015
Public consultation commences on proposals to lift the professional, ethical and education standards in the financial services industry
The Government welcomes the recent report from the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services (the Committee) on its inquiry on proposals to lift the professional, ethical and education standards in the financial services industry. I wish to thank the Committee, particularly its Chair, Senator David Fawcett, the organisations and individuals who made submissions
February 19, 2015
2015 SMSF Association National Conference
The 2015 SMSF Association National Conference is again set to deliver a quality line up of local, national and international speakers with a focus on technical, legal and strategic SMSF topics. Professional Planner is an official media partner of the event, and producer of the conference Daily News.
February 18, 2015
Australian Greens Senator surveys the financial planning battleground
Much to the dismay of many practitioners, financial services and politics are closely intertwined. This was highlighted like never before last year, when the influence of micro-party senators played a major role in the eventual disallowance of the Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) regulations. The Australian Greens has also been increasing its involvement in the
February 18, 2015
MEMO TO ALL ACCOUNTANTS: Your licensing options start…here
A independent service to help guide accountants through the apparent maze of licensing options has been launched by a former financial planning policy adviser and manager for CPA Australia and former head of the AMP-owned licensee SMSF Advice. Kath Bowler, chief executive officer of Licensing For Accountants, says if accountants start to work out the best
February 18, 2015
Macquarie culls a quarter of its financial planners during ASIC enforcement
Macquarie Private Wealth (MPW) has culled around a quarter of its financial planners in the last two years, according to Peter Kell, deputy chairman of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. The investment bank employed 600 financial advisers in 2012, but this number has now fallen by 25 per cent – and possibly further, if
February 16, 2015
Here we go again: no-commission insurance debate covers some familiar ground
Let’s take a step back for a moment and consider a debate that has erupted in the past week on the issue of no-commission life insurance. To recap briefly (and to get the acronyms out of the way early), the Financial Services Council (FSC) and the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) formed the Life Insurance
February 16, 2015
