Self-managed super assumptions are disproved by a UBS, FSC report
The rate of property investment inside self-managed super funds (SMSFs) is considerably lower than expected, according to a joint report from the Financial Services Council (FSC) and UBS. “Also to the question around leverage, this again was quite low, with regard to people having leveraged property or leveraged equities in their self managed portfolio,” says
November 19, 2014
Vale Max Campbell – a pioneer and professional planner to the core
One of the pioneers of the planning profession and a true professional to the core has sadly passed away. Max Campbell, co-founder of the CIS and CWM integrated planning and accounting business, instrumental in the foundation and success of the Snowball Group, died unexpectedly on Sunday, November 16, 2014. At a time when financial planners
November 19, 2014
Accountants advised to strike a BALANCE on licensing options
A licensing solution is only one of the things that accounting firms have to think about when deciding the best way to deal with the end of the accountants’ exemption in July 2016. Scott Charlton, a chartered accountant and business coach, who is also who heads a new licensee established by Fortnum Financial Advisers, and
November 17, 2014
Important action for LRBAs – especially for off-the-plan purchases
In December 2013, the Hon Joe Hockey MP announced the final terms of reference for the government’s Financial System Inquiry and the appointment of four members to serve on the inquiry panel, which is being chaired by David Murray AO. An interim report was released by the inquiry earlier this year. The interim report said:
November 17, 2014
Approaching KPIs from a different perspective: love your work!
It is already November and many readers’ thoughts may already be drifting to the end of the year. Your friends, family and business colleagues may soon be asking, “Have you had a good year?” You may also be asking yourself the same question as you reflect on 2014. Thinking about the question from a business
November 17, 2014
Two months on: the financial planning revolution, refined
Two months after arriving at Harvard University, Simon Malian has begun refining a plan to create a virtual financial planning service and is considering developing a real estate investment tool to create a beach-head into the industry. Malian, a Master of Science in computational science and engineering candidate in the Harvard School of Engineering and
November 14, 2014
Financial advice is an accountant’s path to asset-based fees
Accountants often view financial advice as a way of boosting practice values and adding a product-led revenue stream, says Michael Rees-Evans, director, Libertas Wealth Consulting. “I’ve spoken to accountants…I think the motivation for a lot of them getting into advice seems to be the attraction of what they perceive as easy money…It simply gets them
November 14, 2014
Poor financial advice is often underpinned by bad risk profiling
The Australian financial planning sector is moving toward a behavioural finance approach to risk profiling regulation, according to the national head of DNA Behavior. “This supports the very basic Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) language that’s in the regulation around know your client, know the product,” says Malcolm Le Lievre, managing partner, DNA Behavior. The
November 12, 2014
Why a super fund’s stance on governance may hold pointers for planners
Professional Planner wouldn’t usually pay too much attention to a superannuation fund’s stance on a corporate governance issue. But there’s a current example of the board of a fund taking a stand against the board of a listed company that raises some questions for financial planners. You might not have heard of First Super before
November 12, 2014
Does a sell-off mean sharemarkets have returned to the bad old days?
While nobody enjoyed the recent sharemarket sell-off, Ron Bewley thinks his June 30 index forecast is still solid. There is no doubt that September was not a good month for share investors in Australia. Fuelled by crises in Ukraine and Iraq-Syria, weaker iron ore prices, and talk of changing the regulation of banks, the ASX
November 12, 2014
The rum ration bites the dust again: the end of quantitative easing
For several centuries, sailors in the Royal Navy enjoyed a daily ration of rum, designed to fortify sailors to do what sailors had to do under what were often horrendous circumstances. And we are not talking a nip here, at least not to begin with. Originally, before common sense began to prevail, the daily ration
November 10, 2014
