Study highlights the importance of educating clients on the pros and cons of group life
Clients who opt to rely on group life insurance policies need to fully understand the pros and cons of paying premiums from their super fund balance and the effect of variables such as waiting periods, according to a Rice Warner report released last week. The Group Claims Experience Study reviewed 16 superannuation funds spanning the industry, public, and
October 08, 2015
Predictions are difficult, especially about the future. Just ask VW shareholders
Yogi Berra, the quotable Yankees baseball legend who sadly died last month, would have known what to say to investors caught out by the VW scandal: “Predictions are difficult, especially about the future” was one of his best lines. Anyone holding the car-maker’s shares will know just what he meant. Was the diesel emissions debacle
October 08, 2015
Class announces significant product updates at inaugural Class. CUP. Cloud. conference
Class, the provider of the award-winning Class Super, Australia’s leading cloud-based solution for administering self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs), has announced a number of significant product updates. The company has relaunched its solution for administration and reporting of non-super portfolios under the new name Class Portfolio. It offers seamless investment administration, comprehensive reporting and a complete
October 08, 2015
Market integrity, ethics, forward-looking investment strategies key themes at CFA Australian Investment Conference 2015
Nearly 400 investment management and financial services industry professionals have registered for the ‘Australian Investment Conference 2015’ (the Conference), which is hosted by CFA Societies Australia and will be held on 13 October in Sydney. CFA Societies Australia are member societies of CFA Institute, the global association of investment professionals. Recognised as a leading platform
October 07, 2015
In active management we trust – apparently. But why?
A few days ago, S&P Down Jones released its Mid-Year 2015 SPIVA Australia Scorecard. (SPIVA stands for “Standard & Poor’s Indices Versus Active”.) If you are an active fund manager, or you invest with an active fund manager (i.e., those that try to outperform their benchmark), then it tells a pretty somber story. Over 5 year
October 07, 2015
Legg Mason real income added to AMP income model portfolios
Global asset manager Legg Mason announced that the Legg Mason Martin Currie Real Income Fund has been included in the income model portfolio of Australia’s largest dealer group AMP, with a 5% (maximum) allocation. Luke Mandekic, Manager Model Portfolios at AMP Advice Research undertook an extensive review process before deciding to include the Fund in
October 07, 2015
BondAdviser completes successful capital raising
Independent fixed income research house BondAdviser today announced it has successfully closed its first capital raising to fund business growth. The offer was supported by a number of high-net-worth private investors connected to the financial services industry. BondAdviser Managing Director and Co-Founder, Geoff Malkin, said people familiar with bond markets understand the need for BondAdviser’s
October 07, 2015
Sophisticated robotic advice engine to empower Australian advisers
American portfolio crash-testing company, RiXtrema, has announced signing an exclusivity agreement and Memorandum of Understanding with a team of Australian wealth management experts led by James Sutherland, Founder and CEO of myonlineadvisers. The joint venture, unnamed at this time, is focused on empowering wealth advisers with online tools which will not only improve efficiency, but
October 06, 2015
Efficiency, compliance and more time with clients: how changing needs are driving investment solutions
The appointment of Lukasz de Pourbaix as chief investment officer of the newly created Lonsec Investment Solutions reflects changes taking place place in the investment landscape for financial planners, including the drive for increased efficiency and compliance controls. Lonsec Investment Solutions brings together Lonsec’s managed funds and direct equities research with its portfolio construction services.
October 06, 2015
A game of scale: Building sustainable advice businesses
Making financial planning scalable has been a major challenge for advice practices. There are only so many client meetings and advice documents a practice can physically squeeze into a week. However, that number can be a whole lot bigger with technology. It used to be widely accepted that the optimal number of clients a single
October 06, 2015
How I learned to stop worrying and love robo-advice
Robo-advice is the latest buzz to hit our industry. It holds the promise of low-cost financial advice that ticks all the regulatory boxes, and is promoted as high-tech and sophisticated because it’s based on algorithms. It has the potential to tap the large pool of potential clients who don’t have advisers, often because they have
October 06, 2015
DomaCom best disruption product at Afiniation Awards
At the recent Afiniation Showcase Awards DomaCom took the top prize in the Disruption category. The judges selected the product they felt has the most disruptive effect on the current market and participants. Marc Evans, Afiniation co-founder and head judge explained, ”The winner of the disruption category is going to change the way that the
October 06, 2015
