More income flexibility for Equip MyPension
Equip is offering greater retirement income flexibility as an enhancement to the award-winning Equip MyPension, first introduced in July last year. Some conversations with members, who registered their interest in Equip MyPension, revealed that allowing them to nominate an annual income at the minimum permitted for account based pensions would convert even more inquiries into
February 20, 2015
PM Capital Global Opportunities Fund announces strong first half result
ASX listed investment company, PM Capital Global Opportunities Fund Limited (ASX: PGF) posted strong growth in its first half financial year results, with earnings per share (EPS) of 15.26 cents for the six months to 31 December 2014, up from 0.87 cents per share a year ago, while Total Comprehensive Income was $26.5m for the period,
February 20, 2015
How financial planners can move beyond asset allocation to manage risk
Diversification is a powerful tool but far from a perfect one. Its shortcomings have been seared into investors’ collective memories thanks to the global financial crisis (GFC), when nearly every major asset class declined in value. The presence of systemic risk presented by crises such as the GFC is a major issue for advisers and
February 20, 2015
A for effort as the ECB finally delivers on QE
While the quantitative easing (QE) measures recently announced are better than hoped for, more needs to be done to address the eurozone’s structural problems. What action has the European Central Bank (ECB) taken? On 22 January, the ECB announced a massive program of QE. They’ve decided to purchase €60 billion of financial assets – mostly
February 20, 2015
Recreo goes live: new administrative opportunity for Australia’s super industry
A combination of new technology and industry experience have come together to launch a new investment model, Recreo Financial Technologies. “We have a good mix of technological expertise and industry experience in our Recreo team,” said Matthew Crooks, Co-Founder and Managing Director. “The growing SMSF sector is seeing a rise in the number of increasingly
February 19, 2015
Big four group risk insurers consolidate market share as profit margins continue slide
Australia’s top four wholesale (group) insurers by annual premium income have increased their combined market share, growing from a collective 67 per cent market share at June 2013 to 73 per cent for the June 2014 period. This market domination by a small group of insurers is one of several key findings to emerge from
February 18, 2015
2015 SMSF Association National Conference
The 2015 SMSF Association National Conference is again set to deliver a quality line up of local, national and international speakers with a focus on technical, legal and strategic SMSF topics. Professional Planner is an official media partner of the event, and producer of the conference Daily News.
February 18, 2015
Zenith rates Mercer LifetimePlus APPROVED
Mercer LifetimePlus (MLP) is a newly developed product designed to provide participating superannuation funds access to longevity solutions to their members. MLP sits as an investment option within a participating super fund and is designed to be accessible to those members with Account Based Pensions. MLP represents a new innovation in the search for longevity solutions
February 18, 2015
Australian Greens Senator surveys the financial planning battleground
Much to the dismay of many practitioners, financial services and politics are closely intertwined. This was highlighted like never before last year, when the influence of micro-party senators played a major role in the eventual disallowance of the Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) regulations. The Australian Greens has also been increasing its involvement in the
February 18, 2015
MEMO TO ALL ACCOUNTANTS: Your licensing options start…here
A independent service to help guide accountants through the apparent maze of licensing options has been launched by a former financial planning policy adviser and manager for CPA Australia and former head of the AMP-owned licensee SMSF Advice. Kath Bowler, chief executive officer of Licensing For Accountants, says if accountants start to work out the best
February 18, 2015
New Praemium SMSF functionality to reduce fund breaches
Praemium’s new SMSF functionality will assist accountants and advisers to reduce instances of breaches by fund trustees. This is especially important now that the ATO has been given additional regulatory compliance powers. Breaches of contribution caps or pension limits often occur when accountants and advisers work from different and incomplete information, meaning neither might have
February 17, 2015
