Reframing the retirement conversation is the key to effective planning
Longevity is no longer an emerging issue for financial planners and their clients; it has emerged. It’s leading to new questions that are reframing conversations about retirement planning. “How long do you have left?” is fast supplementing the traditional questions around risk tolerance and age-based investment issues. How long a client can actually expect to
February 25, 2015
US President Obama joins push to ban conflicts of interest in financial advice
US President Obama has unveiled new rules for financial advisers requiring them to place their clients’ interests ahead of their own. In a measure that resembles the Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) best interests duty, Obama said he was “calling on the Department of Labor to update the rules and requirements that retirement advisers put
February 24, 2015
UBS joins mFund service
UBS Securities Australia has this month joined the mFund Settlement Service. This strengthens the distribution capabilities of mFund through UBS’s extensive network of broker, adviser and investor channels. The addition of UBS takes the number of partners connected to 11 distributors, 10 issuers representing 75 funds and 22 fund managers, and 9 registrar service providers.
February 24, 2015
Key findings of the Investment Trends 2014 Platform Report
For the first time ever, the December 2014 Platform Report benchmarked the SMA capabilities of investment platforms used by Australia’s financial planners. The report covers 466 key characteristics of each platform and its service offering, providing a unique insight into the competitive standing of each provider and emerging trends across the industry. 2014 saw a
February 24, 2015
HUB24 Platform recognised in latest awards
HUB24 (ASX: HUB) has once again leapt ahead of traditional platform providers, to rank in the top three platforms in the market for overall functionality in the 2014 Investment Trends Platform Benchmarking report [note 1]. As evidence of its ability to innovate and grow at the same time, HUB24 is now in third place in the
February 23, 2015
Financial planners the ‘new priests’ for clients seeking guidance
The future of financial advice – the profession and the businesses that operate in it – will be shaped by forces far more powerful than mere legislation, according to the futurist and managing director of the Global Directions think-tank, Keith Suter. Speaking at a superannuation round table, hosted by Conexus Financial, sponsored by Perpetual and
February 23, 2015
Weaven says tax break for rich ‘worst public policy since white Australia’
Superannuation tax breaks for the rich is the ‘worst piece of public policy since white Australia’, Garry Weaven pioneer of industry funds said at Conexus Financial’s 18th annual Investment Administration Conference, held last week. Addressing more than 200 superannuation professionals, Weaven said most countries view Australia’s system as close to perfection, but despite this significant
February 23, 2015
One man’s corruption is another man’s investment return. Does it pay to be ethical?
Does it pay to be “ethical” when investing? Browse the investment bookshelves and you will end up none the wiser. That’s because for every sober-looking volume promoting ethical investing, you’ll find another more interesting-looking book extolling the virtues of vice. The reality is somewhere in between, according to three professors at the London Business School
February 23, 2015
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
