Ardea FUM at $5.5bn as flagship fund delivers strong 5 year track record
Specialist fixed income fund manager Ardea Investment Management has celebrated the five-year milestone of its flagship fixed income fund – the Ardea Australian Inflation Linked Bond Fund – and predicts ongoing demand for defensive long-term assets as a protection against inevitable market changes. The manager revealed its funds under management had grown by approximately 30%
April 22, 2015
Maritime Super first to launch mobile super with Financial Synergy
Industry leading superannuation and investment software provider, Financial Synergy has announced the successful launch of its latest offering for mobile-responsive technology. Implemented for the first time in Australia with Maritime Super, the locally-developed portal enables a mobile-friendly version of the Maritime Super Member Online secure website for the $4.5 billion Fund with over 30,000 members.
April 22, 2015
Life Insurance and Advice Working Group: Where to from here?
It started with so much promise. Two of the three major industry associations, the Financial Services Council (FSC) – representing primarily the big end of town – and the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) – representing financial advice practitioners – agreed to work together, forming the Life Insurance and Advice Working Group (LIAWG) in response
April 22, 2015
Wanted: a universally acceptable risk remuneration model, and fast
The absence of a unified voice from the financial planning sector may be hindering its arguments against the recommendations of the Life Insurance and Advice Working Group (LIAWG). “The insurers are all represented by the Financial Services Council…[with] a means of offering a single voice. It’s not so obvious how the licensees could speak with
April 22, 2015
From the ground up: dispelling the fear and uncertainty of starting a new financial planning business
Fear of the unknown is a major stumbling block to more financial planners establishing their own businesses. A podcast series tracing the start up of a new practice aims to remove the fear by tackling head-on some of the major issues the business faces as it gets off the ground. Corey Wastle and James O’Reilly,
April 22, 2015
Investors’ appetite for growth is slowly returning: Investment Trends
For the past five years, each year there has been an increasing proportion of investors who have been prioritising income as their primary investment goal. In 2014, this number fell for the first time since we started conducting this study, with 33% of Australian investors prioritising income as their primary investment goal, down three percentage
April 21, 2015
New deals to lift Managed Account Holdings FUA to over $2 billion
Listed managed discretionary account operator, Managed Account Holdings Limited (MGP) will build and implement customised managed account solutions for two of Australia’s leading boutique financial advisory firms that will in turn lift the group’s total funds under administration (FUA) above $2 billion. The two boutique licensees, which collectively manage around $500 million, plan to migrate
April 21, 2015
BetaShares launches Strong Bear Fund on ASX
BetaShares, a leading provider of Australian exchange traded products, today announced the launch of a new investment fund on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). The BetaShares Australian Equities Strong Bear Hedge Fund trades under the ASX Code “BBOZ” and aims to help investors profit from, or protect against, a declining Australian share market. It seeks
April 21, 2015
Investment Trends 2014 Investor Product Needs Report
Key findings of the Investment Trends 2014 Investor Product Needs Report: Investors’ appetite for growth is slowly returning, and many investors continue to look overseas for investment opportunities Interest in managed funds is making a comeback, particularly among the younger age segments The number of investors in capital protected products has stabilised in 2014, after
April 20, 2015
Market Vectors Australian Equal Weight ETF best in class
In its first full year, the Market Vectors Australian Equal Weight ETF (ASX code: MVW) outperformed the S&P/ASX 200 Accumulation Index by 3.60%, returning 18.16%. As a result, MVW was the best performing ASX-listed broad-based equity ETF for the 12 months ending 31 March 2015. The index that MVW tracks has outperformed the S&P/ASX 200
April 20, 2015
AFA’s withdrawal of support for Trowbridge is a disappointing reversal
The chief executive of the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) Brad Fox has sought to put further distance between the association and John Trowbridge’s recommendations around life insurance advice remuneration. In a lengthy 750-word statement, Fox repeated claims voiced previously by both himself and fellow Life Insurance and Advice Working Group (LIAWG) committee member John
April 20, 2015
Focus on quality of advice sees young Sunshine Coast financial planner win top award
Scott Baker, director of Sunshine Coast financial planning practice Mobbs Baker Wealth won the AMP New Adviser Award earlier this month, just two years after launching the business. A Certified Practising Accountant (CPA) and fully qualified financial planner, the efforts of Baker and his colleagues also led to the practice receiving the MP Gold Award.
April 20, 2015
