Unhinged share markets and the fear of missing out
Global share markets today are becoming bit unhinged in the same way that they did in the late 1990s. The evidence for this is mounting up in the form of sky-high valuations for loss-making businesses and new issues where investors clamour for stock that they believe is overvalued but which they expect to go up
March 06, 2014
Gwen Fletcher: an unshakeable belief in the ability of financial planning to do good
Gwen Fletcher AM passed away on February 28, aged 94. Julie Bennett, co-author with Fletcher of Fletcher’s biography, Running Between the Raindrops, remembers her friend and her immeasurable contribution to the development of financial planning in Australia My friend Gwen Fletcher was unshakeably convinced that financial planning had the power to help people reach their goals,
March 04, 2014
Can’t get no satisfaction? Find out how your licensee stacks up
Leading research firm CoreData’s annual Licensee of the Year research is now in the field, and Professional Planner readers are invited to take part in the 2014 research. The research aims to assess how well dealer groups across the industry meet the needs of financial planners, risk advisers, practice principals and paraplanners within their networks.
March 04, 2014
Is online advice a better mousetrap, or just a trap?
Financial Index Wealth Accountants’ development of an online advice service has clearly struck a nerve among Professional Planner readers. In a poll launched on the day Findex formally launched its Movo financial planning website, a clear majority of respondents say they perceive online advice as a threat to the quality of advice provided. At the
March 04, 2014
What if account-based pensions are deemed?
The rules for assessing account-based pensions are set to become less favourable with a move to deeming proposed from January 1, 2015. Louise Biti explores whether this creates a negative impact for clients. The favourable Centrelink and Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) income test assessment of account-based pensions means that often very little (if any) assessable income
March 04, 2014
Compliance and admin costing planners at least $15,000 a year too much
Australian financial planners could earn up to $15,000 a year of additional revenue by reducing compliance and administration activities to global averages, new research has found. The CoreData Adviser efficiency: Business Processes in Australia report shows that almost a third of an Australian financial planner’s time is spend on compliance and administration, compared to a global average of
March 01, 2014
Time to take control: financial planners urged to shape the future they want
A particular cohort of the financial planning profession is sometimes referred to as the “old and bold”. But as the profession evolves away from a culture rooted in sales to one focused on service, a new term is needed to describe the advisers who are embracing change and who are committed to the tenets of
February 28, 2014
Across the divide: Key policymakers speak out on amendments to FoFA
The principal architect of the review that spawned the Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) reforms, former Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation Bernie Ripoll, and the man who proposes to amend key elements of the FoFA legislation, Assistant Treasurer Senator Arthur Sinodinos, have spoken publicly about their respective views. READ SINODINOS’S COMMENTS READ RIPOLL’S COMMENTS
February 27, 2014
Why you shouldn’t let just a few stocks do all the heavy lifting
Australian shares have recently delivered robust returns: in the year to 31December 2013, the S&P/ASX200 Accumulation Index returned 20.2 per cent. However, a closer look at where this performance came from gives cause for concern. Far from being a broadly-based market rally, this return outcome was actually very narrowly based. A few stocks have done
February 27, 2014
Findex adds a third arm as it takes financial planning online
Fresh from its successful bid for financial planning business Centric Wealth, Financial Index Wealth Accountants (Findex) has launched an online advice offering. Called Movo, the launch gives Findex presence in three key advice market segments: the high-net-worth segment through Centric; the mid-market through the Findex brand, which includes a telephone-based client service capability; and the
February 25, 2014
Don’t lose sight of who regulation is ultimately meant to serve
There’s an emerging trend in the debate about regulation of financial services around the world. It demonstrates that some people have apparently learned nothing from history, and are so blinded to what they should have learned that they are likely (and quite happy) to wreak the same havoc on investors and taxpayers next time around.
February 25, 2014
