Foreign investment is needed by Australia, but government must continue to be vigilant
Connect Financial Service Brokers (Connect) CEO Paul Tynan points to the recent issue of property investments in Australia by foreign investors and says it has highlighted the importance of having trusted advisers to help monitor the legality and structure of these property deals. Commenting further, Tynan says overseas investments into Australia have to adhere to
July 06, 2015
China is having an impact on the Australian Dollar
The eyes of the world are on Greece as it has the potential to undermine confidence in Europe, but China is a much bigger story, says George Lucas, managing director Instreet Investment. “ Indeed, the recent selloff in Australia is being driven by the correction in the mainland Chinese share market not so much the
July 06, 2015
New Class APIs deliver greatly enhanced usability and security for clients and partners
Class, the provider of the award-winning Class Super, Australia’s leading cloud-based solution for administering self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs), has announced two new product features to further streamline SMSF administration and unlock the value of Class solutions for its clients and partners. As part of its drive to continue to build its partner ecosystem and deliver
July 06, 2015
Content is king for this start-up financial planning venture
As his financial planning business celebrates its first year, the founding principal of Canopy Private Wealth credits an unlikely tool for much of his success. Sourcing clients is perhaps the most commonly cited challenge for new planning businesses. Chris Bates, founder and principal of Canopy Private Wealth has attracted many of his clients through content
July 05, 2015
Even the best financial planning ‘marriages’ keep some things separate
After a merger or acquisition, some financial planning businesses choose to combine their separate compliance frameworks. But in the case of Australian Unity’s and Premium Wealth Management, the distinction between the two systems is being deliberately maintained. This is because the two Australian Financial Services licensees offer quite different services for their clients and advisers
July 05, 2015
Integrated compliance is the final step for Matrix and Clearview
Merging two separate compliance frameworks is among the final stages of ClearView Wealth’s acquisition of Matrix Planning Solutions, says Todd Kardash, chief executive officer of the combined dealer group business. The $20 million takeover of Matrix was first announced last September. Since then, the two Australian Financial Services licensees’ financial systems and marketing arrangements have
July 02, 2015
You can’t stop the march of a ‘greying’ client base, but you can leverage its impact
As Australia’s population continues to get older, so will its financial needs change and evolve. Herein lies the dual edged sword of opportunity and threat for most financial planning businesses. Consider the following key findings from the latest Business Health database: The clients 53 per cent are 60 years of age or older Almost 50
July 02, 2015
Attempting a do-it-yourself response to risk product design
The traditional risk product development process is defined by a top-down approach, extending from the life insurer to the financial planner or risk adviser and only then to the consumer. Insurers insist that consumer and adviser feedback heavily influence their product design. However, the fact remains that most Australian financial services (AFS) licensees and planners
July 02, 2015
Greece is the word – Standard Life Investments – Weekly Economic Briefing
Greece is dominating headlines after the Syriza government’s shock announcement that it intends to hold a referendum on July 5 on the bail-out extension proposed by creditors last week. Initially, the government insisted that the country’s banks would remain open. But in the wake of the ECB’s decision to cap the Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA)
July 02, 2015
Van Eck Global lists Market Vectors Morningstar Wide Moat ETF
New York investment manager Van Eck Global listed its Market Vectors Morningstar Wide Moat exchange-traded fund (ETF) (ASX code: MOAT), giving Australian investors exposure to a concentrated portfolio of U.S. equities with a new twist. This ETF seeks to leverage Morningstar, Inc. (‘Morningstar’)’s equity research that aims to identify companies with wide “economic moats” or
July 02, 2015
A new kid on the block takes the planning software fight to XPLAN, Coin
New home-grown financial planning software provider Adviser Intelligence claims it can help planners become up to four times more efficient – just as ASIC begins policing compliance with the controversial opt-in provisions. It launches the first of its three major modules next week, starting with the Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) module. This will be
June 30, 2015
Closing the behavioural gap in life insurance advice
Financial planners focusing on risk advice – and life insurers themselves – should heed developments in the direct life insurance space. While much of the recent reporting on life insurance advice has focused on advice and how planners are remunerated for this, retail life insurers also need to up their game, as Professional Planner wrote earlier this
June 30, 2015
