UPDATED BUDGET 2015: What it means for you and your clients
Retirement planning strategies have escaped the need for a major rethink after the government last night confirmed it would make no unexpected or detrimental changes to superannuation in this parliamentary term. And small businesses – those run by financial planners themselves, as well as those run by the clients of financial planners – have been
May 13, 2015
You might think it’s crazy: CARS aims for robo-based retirement modelling
A revolutionary program that offers robo-advice on optimal investment plans for individuals could change the face of retirement offerings for superannuation funds. The model, which has been created by three actuaries, factors in detailed statistics on investment, health and mortality, alongside personal data on wealth, income requirements and risk preferences. The multiple inputs have been
May 13, 2015
Peters MacGregor Global Fund joins retail platform BT Wrap and Asgard
The Peters MacGregor Global Equity Fund, one of Australia’s longest running global equity funds, has been added to the BT Wrap and Asgard platforms. The Fund provides clients with investments in up to 25 global companies that meet Peters MacGregor’s strict investment criteria of great companies with great management purchased at great prices. Wayne Peters,
May 12, 2015
INTERACTIVE: A land of opportunity – where is the best place to be a financial planner?
With an estimated population of 23.79 million – as of April 14, 2015, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) – Australia isn’t exactly over-serviced by financial planners. Estimates of the number of advisers vary, and are notoriously unreliable, but a generally accepted figure of about 18,000 means there’s plenty of space, and clients,
May 12, 2015
BT Compact Wrap and Wholesale Plus Funds hit the mark
BT Compact Wrap and Wholesale Plus Funds are hitting the mark with advisers and investors, providing a low-cost offer for clients with modest balances and less complex needs. More than $200 million has already been invested across the Wholesale Plus Funds which are available on BT and Asgard platforms including BT Compact Wrap. Kelly Power,
May 11, 2015
Macquarie platforms ranked top of the industry by advisers
Macquarie’s Wrap investment platforms – Macquarie Wrap Manager and Macquarie Wrap Consolidator – have been ranked first and second overall in the 2015 Wealth Insights Platform Service Level Report. The report, which surveyed 927 financial advisers nationwide, found that Macquarie Wrap Manager achieved the highest overall satisfaction score of 8.02 out of 10, while Macquarie
May 11, 2015
Findex appoints State Street Global Advisors for investment research and asset consulting
State Street Global Advisors (SSGA), the investment management arm of State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT), announced today that Findex Group, one of Australia’s largest financial services and accounting groups, has appointed SSGA to provide tactical asset allocation and advisory services for the group’s AU$15 billion funds under management following its recent acquisition of Crowe Horwath
May 11, 2015
Post-retirement product focus ignores investor needs
Picture a scene. A doctor is about to give you some very bad news. You have a life-threatening disease which only afflicts 5 per cent of people and will require a major operation. It’s not only a shock but the statistics are cold comfort when it’s your future that’s at risk. That’s the type of
May 11, 2015
Assets in ETFs/ETPs globally reached a new record $US2.998 trillion
Assets in ETFs/ETPs globally reached a new record 2.998 trillion US dollars but fell short of breaking through the 3 trillion milestone at the end of April according to ETFGI’s preliminary monthly ETF and ETP global insight report for April 2015. Our forecast was that assets will break through 3 trillion by the middle of
May 08, 2015
Commission or fee: just how much value is there in a name?
The life insurance advice industry is unnecessarily focused on the terminology of remuneration as either commission or fee-for-service, according to consultant and risk adviser Chris Unwin. “The problem is in the adviser’s head. It doesn’t matter whether you call it a commission or a fee; the question is do you actually represent value to the
May 08, 2015
