Affinia, Business Health peek behind the risk advice curtain
Risk focused financial planning practices face a number of specific challenges and opportunities, says Paul Gaffney, regional manager for Queensland and the Northern Territory at Affinia. In seeking to better understand these, Gaffney reveals it has recently partnered with consultancy practice Business Health to undertake what he believes is one of the first studies of
July 28, 2014
Financial planners, insurers critical in sustaining the life insurance sector
When the life insurance industry has a bad year, it can manifest as a perfect storm for all participants, amplifying the impact of current year claims and policy lapses on the level of reserves insurers are required to hold. By any measure, 2013 was a challenging year for the Australian life insurance industry, with the
July 28, 2014
FEATURE AMP aims for more advice to more people – and a 60-minute SoA
One of Rob Caprioli’s priorities as AMP’s group executive, advice and banking, is working out how AMP-aligned financial planners can deliver more advice to more customers, more often. “We know that providing high-quality advice delivers significant value to a customer,” Caprioli says. “We know that we have a large customer base. We know there’s probably
July 25, 2014
FPA seeks to placate its troubled CBA members
The Financial Planning Association (FPA) has apologised to its members inside the broader Commonwealth Bank group, after some took offence to what they saw as earlier suggestions of endemic unethical behaviour. In a letter issued last week, as seen by Professional Planner, FPA chair Matthew Rowe, said: “It was not my intention to imply our
July 25, 2014
How an efficient portfolio management system can boost revenue and valuations
The high multiples and prices that dealer groups and advice practices have been able to attract in recent years are, in most cases, directly linked to funds under administration and/or platform rebates. However, the writing is on the wall for rebates. This has seen competition in the investment administration space rapidly heat up in the
July 25, 2014
Minor party FoFA amendments could increase red tape for financial planning businesses
Amended regulations to the Corporations Act (Streamlining of Future of Financial Advice) Bill 2014, put forward by minor parties in the Senate, could increase red tape for financial planning firms for little consumer protection benefit, according to the SMSF Professionals’ Association of Australia (SPAA). Jordan George, SPAA’s senior manager of technical and policy, told the
July 23, 2014
SPAA, Macquarie report finds no single model best for SMSF advice
Financial advice around self managed super funds (SMSFs) is delivered by practitioners from a variety of different specialisations, according to the SMSF Service Model Report 2014. “Our research shows there is no one way for accessing SMSFs…there is no outstanding individual model,” says Mark Brennan, division director – wealth management, Macquarie Bank, speaking at yesterday’s
July 23, 2014
Inflation is low for the moment – but what happens if the game changes?
In research from economists at a number of international institutions, there is a major shift occurring in thinking about how monetary policy is conducted. This shift could prove crucial to the outlook for inflation, so it has profound implications for investors. For several decades, the major central banks of the world have been very successful
July 23, 2014
New PJC inquiry could provide the missing pieces in the professionalism puzzle
There is growing optimism that the latest Parliamentary Joint Committee (PJC) inquiry – into professional, educational and ethical standards in financial planning – can provide the final pieces in the puzzle and create an environment for financial planning to flourish as a profession The inquiry – The Parliamentary Joint Committee (PJC) on Corporations and Financial
July 21, 2014
CBA mandates CFP certification for all senior planners from 2017
All senior financial planners working for Commonwealth Financial Planning (CFPL) will need to hold Certified Financial Planner accreditation by 30 June, 2017, as part of the group’s move to boost educational standards across its wealth management division. The bank’s latest statement follows its announcement last week that all CFPL financial planners will be required to
July 18, 2014
Forced separation of product from advice ‘wouldn’t worry us’: Murray
Formally separating product from advice and forcing vertically integrated businesses to divest either their product or advice businesses is “one remedy” to addressing conflicts and tension in the provision of financial advice, according to the chair of the Financial System Inquiry, David Murray. Murray said that despite the implications for vertically integrated businesses, the inquiry
July 18, 2014
