In Focus: The name is bond…corporate bond
An individual in Europe can walk into a local bank and buy a corporate bond for the equivalent of only $1000. In some countries, investing in bonds issued by major companies is as natural and as simple as investing in a term deposit. In Australia that’s not so much the case. The domestic corporate bond market is, in many respects, quite underdeveloped. That is
June 06, 2014
SSFS eyes scaled, technology-assisted financial advice to boost productivity
Scaled financial advice delivered through technology-mediated channels will underpin State Super Financial Services’ (SSFS) approach in the near future, according to the head of the public sector dealer group. With around 160 financial planners, a number that has been steadily growing, SSFS provides financial advice to members of the Australian public sector – a potential
June 04, 2014
The times they are a-changin’ the compliance value proposition
Like the themes alluded to in the title of Bob Dylan’s classic song, our industry is undergoing a period of overwhelming change. The last few years have seen the introduction of an ongoing cavalcade of increasingly complex regulatory and best practice requirements. Amongst all that change (and proposed change) one thing remains constant: a savvy
June 04, 2014
The financial planner’s role in avoiding a retirement train wreck
Constant changes to superannuation policy make it practically impossible to plan for retirement, which is why Australian workers must take saving and investing for retirement into their own hands. Many of the baby boomers approaching retirement have only been contributing an incremental amount to superannuation for 20 years. As a result, the majority of people
June 04, 2014
Wronged clients of Commonwealth’s financial planning still on hold
A number of former customers of Commonwealth Bank of Australia-owned financial planning licensee Financial Wisdom (FinWiz) remain unclear about where they stand in seeking compensation for bad financial advice they received between 2008 and 2010. Professional Planner has learned from two former clients of disgraced North Queensland financial planner Rollo Sheriff, who was a co-owner
June 02, 2014
Licensees to thrill: the best financial planning licensees of 2014
A number of common themes unite the top five licensees in this year’s CoreData survey of financial advisers’ attitudes toward their dealer groups. And the top-five list also reveals some outliers. Glenn Freeman reports. The Licensee of the Year survey conducted by CoreData has been run and won for another year, with a number of
June 02, 2014
Can you do your job better than I could do it? OK, but how would anyone know?
Over the years – over many years – I have delighted in baiting successive chief executives of various financial planning associations with the thought that if it’s possible for me to join their association then its barriers to entry are too low. Last July, to my dismay, one avenue for such petty bastardy was closed
June 02, 2014
Killing off innovation is not the regulatory outcome we are looking for
Financial planning industry consolidation driven by regulatory uncertainty is stifling product innovation to the detriment of both financial planners and their clients, according to the managing director of Instreet Investment, George Lucas. “That’s already started happening, and in future there will definitely be less products offered by independent financial advisers,” Lucas says. He describes this
May 30, 2014
Are you willing to pay the price for a ticket on the gravy train?
Of all the revelations that have been uncovered in investigations by the ABC and Fairfax Media into Commonwealth Financial Planning (CFPL), the one that stood out was the former CFPL financial planner Don Nguyen’s claim that “he did not know” that what he was doing was wrong. We’re not privy to exactly what Nguyen means
May 30, 2014
Some light birthday reading: Five go on a taper tantrum
May marks the one-year anniversary of the Bernanke bombshell, remarks from the then chairman of the Federal Reserve that sent shockwaves through financial markets. What he said was uncontroversial but it sent a powerful message. The US monetary stimulus that had underpinned global markets could not continue indefinitely. For investors in denial about the eventual
May 30, 2014
ASIC gives thumbs-up to 10-point plan to raise standards, weed out bad apples
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has given the thumbs-up to a 10-point plan produced by the Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA), with ASIC commissioner and deputy chair Peter Kell labelling it “important” for industry bodies to be proactive in raising standards across the board. “ASIC is very pleased to see the FPA
May 28, 2014
Why effective communication is the key to a healthy mentoring relationship
Based on a number of my recent conversations, it appears that there is a healthy respect for the value of mentoring – formal or informal – among financial advisers. At the same time, in the context of last month’s article on governance, I think that more people could benefit from a mentoring relationship; and some
May 28, 2014
