Zenith reaffirms ratings on Allan Gray funds
Zenith was informed late last night of Managing Director and Portfolio Manager of Allan Gray Australia, Simon Marais’ passing. Marais had reduced his day-to-day investing responsibilities in October 2014, leaving Simon Mawhinney as the sole portfolio manager of the Allan Gray Australia Equity Fund. Mawhinney had been the sole portfolio manager of the Allan Gray
March 02, 2015
Australia Ratings assigns 11 new ratings to ASX listed debt securities including ANZ & NAB
Australia Ratings announced today it has assigned credit ratings and product complexity indicators to a further 11 debt and hybrid securities listed on the ASX. Issuers of securities covered in the latest release include ANZ, NAB, Colonial and IAG. The ratings have been issued as part of the ASX’s Debt and Hybrid Research Scheme under
March 02, 2015
Vanguard Investments Australia wins Morningstar Australian Fund Manager of the Year 2015
Morningstar is pleased to announce the winners of the Australian Morningstar Awards 2015. Vanguard Investments Australia won the overall Australian Fund Manager of the Year Award. “The winners of the Australian Morningstar Awards have all shown themselves to be first-class stewards of investor capital. The quality of their people, process, parent, price, and performance is
March 02, 2015
AdviserLogic integrates Morningstar research for advisers
AdviserLogic has introduced a new enhancement to its software solution by completing an integration of Morningstar fund and share research (Morningstar research). AdviserLogic head of product development, Daniel Gara, said the integration of Morningstar research simplifies processes for AdviserLogic users who also subscribe to the Morningstar service. “Having this information available within AdviserLogic makes preparation
March 02, 2015
Licensees urged to have ASIC register information verified
At the end of March the first phase of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s financial advisers register (FAR) will go public. Between now and then, every Australian financial services licensee must ensure they have provided details about their advisers’ past employment details. By the end of May, when phase two of the FAR goes
March 02, 2015
Costello, Murray at odds over borrowing inside super
The former treasurer, Peter Costello, says the Financial System Inquiry’s (FSI) proposed banning of lending inside self-managed super funds is unnecessary. “People who go into SMSFs are people who know business…taking on some debt is not unusual for these people. They by and large are people who’ve put together a few assets and are by
March 02, 2015
Why effective retirement advice is about probabilities, not forecasts
Managing risks and dealing with uncertainty for clients in retirement puts the onus on planners to present clients with probabilities and options, not straight-line return forecasts. Consultant Paul Maddock, who has previously worked with MLC, BT and SFG, says the planning process should start with a detailed discussion between the planner and the adviser on
March 02, 2015
Zurich’s latest product update boosts affordability
Zurich has maintained its longstanding commitment to twice-yearly risk product enhancements with the announcement of its forthcoming March 1st update. The update will reinforce Zurich’s growing platform presence with a number of improvements to its superannuation-based policies. Headlining the enhancements is the confirmation of a first year 15 percent discount on premiums funded via rollover,
February 27, 2015
OneVue delivers positive EBDITA for first-half and record FUA
OneVue has delivered its first positive period of EBITDA for the half year ending 31 December 2014. The result was delivered in line with OneVue’s prospectus forecast. In the same period, Funds Under Administration (FUA) in Platform Services rose 45% from $1.94b to $2.82b due to net funds flow and the Select acquisition. Funds Under Management (FUM)
February 27, 2015
Bashford contemplates life after AMP and says the Futuro is bright
Two years short of a planned five-year engagement with the financial service giant AMP, Futuro Financial Services is now looking forward instead to life as a newly single licensee. AMP acquired 10 per cent of Futuro in 2012, and initially intended to move to 100 per cent ownership by 2017. Yesterday Futuro announced that for
February 27, 2015
IN FOCUS: Direct fix for bond investors
The rising life expectancy of Australians and the rapid growth in self-managed super funds (SMSFs) are fuelling a resurgent interest in fixed-income investment for financial planners and their clients. As a key defensive asset class, bonds are particularly important for investors requiring a reliable income stream and stable growth. “They’re looking at the risk of
February 27, 2015
HUB24 partners with GPS Wealth for new white label
Independently owned national licensee GPS Wealth has selected HUB24 (ASX: HUB) to provide a new managed account offering for its member firms. The initiative will see HUB24’s award winning technology deployed in a fully customised and branded manner and will be centred on GPS Wealth’s innovative investment portfolios. With total funds under advice well in
February 26, 2015
