COVER STORY Let’s talk about ethics: Holding professionals to account
Most of us believe we know the difference between right and wrong. Unless our aim is explicitly to take advantage of others, then we believe we can generally identify and do the right thing. And even if exploitation were our prime objective, we’d probably still know, deep down, that it’s not the right thing to
September 03, 2015
Six Market Vectors ETFs awarded 4 stars ‘Superior’ rating
Market Vectors ETFs, the exchange traded fund business of Van Eck Global, today announced that six of its ASX-listed ETFs have received a 4 star ‘Superior’ rating from SQM Research. The ratings affirm that Market Vectors’ ETFs are suitable for inclusion on financial adviser approved product lists. Matthew McKinnon, Director, Intermediary and Institutions, Market Vectors
September 02, 2015
UBS launches inaugural SIV compliant fund – UBS Australian Small Companies SIV Fund
UBS Global Asset Management is pleased to launch its inaugural Significant Investor Visa fund into the Australian marketplace. The new Commonwealth Significant Investor Visa (SIV), effective 1 July 2015, aims to attract high net worth investors to Australia under a temporary visa arrangement who invest a minimum of $5 million across a mandated range of
September 02, 2015
Graduate talent and sustainable financial planning businesses sit side-by-side
Financial planning practice principals have considerable room for improvement in attracting young talent and planning their own succession, according to a national study conducted by Zanetti Recruitment and Griffith University. “I think there are a lot of professions that utilise graduates far better than we do and I think the industry as a whole [including]
September 01, 2015
Moving beyond ‘growth’ and ‘defensive’ labels to focus on the risk that lies beneath
A debate is raging in the superannuation industry and it centres on the definition between growth and defensive assets. Those classifications have acted as signposts on the pathway to deliver better risk-adjusted (or more precisely volatility-adjusted) long-term returns for so many years that the terminology has become standard. Question marks have been raised at the
September 01, 2015
AIOFP’s latest message to members slams the AFA and FPA and reveals the association’s offensive
Infighting between financial planning industry and professional associations has kicked off again with the Association of Independently Owned Financial Professionals (AIOFP) directly attacking both the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) and the Financial Planning Association (FPA), along with the Financial Services Council (FSC) for being “institutionally aligned” and therefore not representing the interests of financial
September 01, 2015
HUB24 to support Infocus Wealth Management with new white label platform offering
Independently owned Infocus Wealth Management Limited will, during September, have access to HUB24’s award winning platform technology. This new initiative will see the HUB24 platform deployed for the two AFSL holders within the Infocus Wealth Management Group, PATRON Financial Advice and Infocus Securities Australia, representing around 120 financial planning firms nationally. Infocus Wealth Management Managing
September 01, 2015
First of the Professional Planner|Zenith Fund Awards 2015 finalists revealed
On October 9 this year, the winners of the Professional Planner|Zenith Fund Awards 2015 will be announced at an event at Ivy Ballroom in Sydney. Today Professional Planner reveals the first tranche of finalists in these prestigious funds management awards. The first tranche covers nine of a total of 19 fund categories, which include Distributor
August 31, 2015
Launch of SMSF capability within V-Wrap
Praemium is pleased to announce the launch of software functionality for the monitoring and accounting of Self- Managed Super Funds (SMSFs). The new functionality has been built into the V-Wrap non-custodial portfolio administration system and will enable users to ensure fund compliance as well as prepare SMSF annual returns. V-Wrap is the market’s most comprehensive
August 31, 2015
Australia ‘patchy’, China ‘sustainable’, Fiducian says
The global economy gained momentum in the June quarter of this year after a slow patch in the March quarter but in more recent weeks some negative data appears to have alarmed investors. World share markets suffered a reversal in late August after investors took fright at the release of weak manufacturing data for China
August 31, 2015
Australian Ethical reports solid full year results
Australian Ethical Investments (ASX: AEF) today announced its financial results for the year ended 30 June 2015, reporting net profit after tax (NPAT) of $1.970 million. The 23% decrease on the previous corresponding period is due to three main factors: a reduction in fees at the beginning of the financial year on its superannuation fund
August 31, 2015
Archaic client charging methodologies continue to plague financial planning
Financial planning is still dominated by outdated charging methodologies which considerably disadvantage clients, according to Jim Stackpool, principal of Certainty Advice Group. Stackpool identified the new model of financial planning practices, what he terms ‘generation four’ businesses, as those that make their money through advice and not products. “We still have archaic means of charging
August 28, 2015
