Who are the Best Practice finalists?
The quest to identify Australia’s best financial planning practice has produced a shortlist of finalists that demonstrate how regulatory change and economic uncertainty represent no hurdle to running a great business. The Best Practice Competition 2013, run by Professional Planner and consulting firm Business Health, and supported by MLC Advice Partnerships, attracted more than 200
July 30, 2013
Buzz in recruitment but legacy books face sting
Licensees are reporting vastly different recruitment experiences in the first month of the Future of Financial Advice reforms with some recording high levels of query from advisers looking to switch while others claim it is now harder than ever to move. Last week, Futuro managing director Dennis Bashford said the dealer group was experiencing a
July 29, 2013
PIS under pressure
Centrepoint Alliance, owner of Professional Investment Services, hopes a new management team will be able to turn around the beleaguered dealer group after the regulator expressed concerns over compliance. An independent expert will monitor the financial advice given by Professional Investment Services (PIS) representatives for the next nine months under standards set out by the
July 18, 2013
Succession planning: easy except for the leaving
A conversation with a friend and veteran financial planner has Matt Fogarty contemplating post-FoFA succession planning but one thing remains the same: exiting a business takes almost as much time, effort and consideration as setting up a business from scratch. “I am happy to sell down my ownership progressively over the next five-to-seven years, but
July 16, 2013
Liberals reheat FoFA concerns in policy paper
A Liberal government would revisit the Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) reforms as part of new policy paper aimed at formalising a wider commitment to cutting costs. The Policy to Boost Productivity and Reduce Regulation paper outlines coalition plans for reducing the regulatory burden on individuals, businesses and community organisations by establishing and meeting a
July 09, 2013
FPA, AMP push professionalism
The Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA) has backed calls by one of the country’s largest dealer groups that all of its financial planners become members of a professional association. AMP’s director of financial planning advice and services, Steve Helmich, last week reportedly stated that it will become mandatory for all planners in the AMP
July 08, 2013
NAB advisers most likely to jump ship
Advisers from NAB Financial Planning are more likely than their industry peers to switch licensees over the next year, with about a third considering a future elsewhere. According to research conducted by CoreData on adviser satisfaction with their licensee, financial advisers at NAB FP were the most likely of 19 licensees surveyed (3.6 out of
July 04, 2013
Why I handed back my AFSL
A previous winner of the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) adviser of the year award says increased compliance obligations are behind the decision to disband his boutique Australian Financial Services Licence and sign up with a dealer group. Troy Edmondson held an AFSL for three years, during which time the number of authorised representatives grew from
July 02, 2013
Cormann slams taxation bill ram raid
Financial planners will eventually need to register as tax agents after three taxation bills passed through the Senate on Friday afternoon, despite opposition outrage. While financial advisers have a further 12-month exemption, they face the vagaries of a second regulator and education requirements that are yet to be determined. Senator Mathias Cormann was left fuming.
July 01, 2013
