Exclusive: Shadow Treasurer wants bipartisan agreement on super objectives
The Shadow Treasurer, Chris Bowen, said that bipartisan agreement on the objectives of superannuation can be reached, addressing a number of senior industry figures during a roundtable held in Sydney yesterday. Addressing 17 leaders of the superannuation industry, including chief executives of funds, directors of financial services companies and prominent thinkers, in an event hosted
February 06, 2015
TAL submission accepts some blame and argues for more consumer choice
Australia’s life insurers take responsibility for their part in the sector’s problems, including a lack of sustainability and poor consumer choice, says the head of TAL. “We take our blame and our responsibility for our part in it…as a sector we must take responsibility. We need to make some changes, we’re not sure what they’ll
February 06, 2015
Five Proofs – delivering quality advice and achieving informed consent
One of the most important things that any organisation can do is to create a culture that allows financial planners to get on with the task of giving suitable financial advice. As Professional Planner has previously reported, real improvements in the quality of advice are driven from the bottom up, and there is often genius
February 06, 2015
Succession planning is vital in retaining client loyalty
Taking a corporate approach to your financial planning practice by ensuring clients are at least aware of the other professionals inside your business is a crucial part of succession planning, according to a Business Health study. Some 63 per cent of clients surveyed stated they would not be comfortable dealing with anyone else from the
February 04, 2015
Shroud of silence around life insurance advice review continues
Only four life insurance industry stakeholders revealed they have lodged a submission with the Life Insurance Advice Working Group, out of the more than 100 that are said to have participated. Risk-focused financial planning practice Bombora Advice and insurance company Zurich told Professional Planner they have issued submissions. Neither has yet revealed the substance of
February 04, 2015
How time travel can help clients save for retirement
Do you recall in Back to the Future II when Marty and Doc contemplated what would happen if you encountered your future self? Famously, Doc envisaged two possibilities. One was that you would go into shock and pass out. The second was that “the encounter would create a time paradox, the result of which could
February 04, 2015
AMP’s plan to clear out Genesys hits a snag as practices consider equity options
AMP’s equity ownership in several Genesys financial planning practices is proving to be a stumbling block to the financial services giant’s plan to migrate Genesys practices and advisers to alternative AMP-owned licensees. AMP announced in November last year that it had completed a strategic review of Genesys and planned to “rationalise the business and offer
February 02, 2015
Robo-advice: plenty of promise in the idea, but no threat to full-service advice
Online technology has been used to disrupt dozens of industries in recent times and there’s no shortage of companies willing to bet that financial advice is next in line. US-based automated investment adviser Wealthfront, which charges just 0.25 per cent on its portfolios, has quickly amassed more than $US1.5 billion in assets while Charles Schwab
February 02, 2015
AFA president pledges ‘more of the same resolve’ to tackle challenges of 2015
To paraphrase Abigail Adams – wife of the second president of the United States, John Adams, who frequently sought her advice – this is a time we would choose to live in, because it’s at times like this that true character can be demonstrated. The Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) has a unique culture. It
February 02, 2015
As its submission deadline looms, is the latest life insurance review fatally flawed?
Today marks the final business day before submissions to the Life Insurance Advice Working Group (LIAWG) close. In the absence of any new information from the working group, it is worth considering its structure. No insight has yet been provided by the LIAWG into how many submissions have been received, nor which organisations or individuals
January 30, 2015
AFA chief urges planners to ‘see through the noise’ and to own the past – the good and the bad
The chief executive officer of the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA), Brad Fox, has urged the financial planning community to accept accountability for errors committed in the past, but refuse to take the blame for issues that are not advice-related. Speaking at an event organised by the Value Alliance – a joint venture between media
January 30, 2015
What lies ahead for the self-managed super fund sector in 2015
Overall, 2014 was a good year for self managed super funds (SMSFs). Aside from the introduction of new trustees penalties, which after a false start in 2013 finally came into effect in July, there were very few rule changes that directly impacted SMSF trustees. In fact, 2014 saw the continuation of a period of relative
January 30, 2015
