FEATURE: Has the era of the major professional services firm dawned in financial planning?
A puzzling feature of the financial services landscape is that large-scale professional services firms, like those found in law or accounting, don’t exist the same way in financial planning. The new financial planning business co-founded by former MLC chief executive Steve Tucker and former JBWere chief executive Paul Heath is an attempt to address that,
December 15, 2014
Level commissions for risk advice may not solve the sector’s woes
A mandated level commission remuneration structure for life insurance advisers, as recommended by the Financial System Inquiry (FSI) final report, would be a step too far, according to the head of a risk-focused financial advice practice. “I don’t think level premium is the ultimate answer, because it makes providing advice to a range of clients
December 15, 2014
Six implications for advisers from Murray’s approach to behavioural biases
Search for “behavioural bias” in Murray’s Financial System Inquiry (FSI) Final Report and you’ll find 20 references. Why? Because according to the report, how we behave can have big implications. If advisers didn’t have enough reason to tailor their advice to accommodate human decision-making biases already, it seems regulation will force them to pay attention.
December 15, 2014
Blue sky above the rain: the theme for 2015 is ‘Let’s get on with it’
Financial planners are putting regulatory uncertainty behind them and focusing on business growth in 2015, according to a survey conducted at the Financial Planning Association National Congress in Adelaide last month. The survey, conducted by BoQ Specialist, found that planners have enough confidence in their businesses and business models to use personal assets to fund
December 12, 2014
AMP practice plans property service alongside advice, mortgage broking
Melbourne-based financial planning practice Oak Financial Partners intends to add an in-house property management arm to its operations within the next 12 to 18 months, according to principal Cameron Vallve. This would cater to demand from a number of the firm’s clients that hold investment properties, and is driven by a number of internal staff
December 12, 2014
Steve Tucker: The world is not flat and the market will solve advice conflicts
As various governments and regulators have struggled to create the right settings to ensure clients receive the best advice from financial planners and advisors, it seems to me they are fighting against over 30 years of embedded beliefs and systems. Perhaps it’s inevitable that the market itself will need to solve this challenge. The ownership
December 12, 2014
Inflexibility, low service standards drive movement between AFS licensees
There is a surge in the number of institutionally owned financial planning practices moving into the non-aligned and independent space, according to businesses providing external licensee services. “We are receiving at least a few calls each week from advisers who are institutionally-aligned, and they call us asking whether they should look at self-licensing,” says Simon
December 10, 2014
Ten years of promoting professionalism for planners around the world
If you’re a Certified Financial Planner (CFP), you’ll be familiar with the Financial Planning Standards Board (FPSB). And if you are on track to become a CFP – or even if you’re at that stage of your career where you reckon you might want to become one – then you should become familiar with the
December 10, 2014
The year in review: Another good year for share market investors
World share markets produced solid returns in 2014. This was despite geopolitical issues, concerns over the durability of the global recovery and the prospect of quantitative easing (QE) in the US ending, all of which contributed to bouts of market volatility. By the end of November, global shares had produced a hedged return of over
December 10, 2014
FSI keeps up pressure on planners to lift standards, education and disclosure
The final report of the Financial System Inquiry (FSI), released yesterday, is no game-changer for the financial planning profession, but it continues a clear course set by recent regulatory reforms and singles out risk commissions, education and ownership disclosure for special attention. If there was any lingering doubt as to who holds the whip hand
December 08, 2014
Platform dominance under threat from direct investment channels
Financial planners are increasingly turning away from large-scale centralised investment platforms in favour of more flexible, cheaper direct channels, according to the head of Bell Direct. “I think as a general trend, and not just in financial services, the world of clients and intermediaries are moving to business models and service models that are open
December 08, 2014
There is a lucky country, but it might not be who you think it is
Australians like to think they live in the “lucky country” but that label is surely better applied to the US today. You could hardly envisage a more benign backdrop for the US economy and stock market than the current environment of tumbling energy prices, low inflation, narrowing deficits, competitive industry, a popular currency and, consequently,
December 08, 2014
