FoFA fiasco creates financial advice confusion
The recent disallowance of a package of Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) refinements put through by the Government creates yet more confusion in the advice world, writes Michael Vrisakis. Due to the disallowance, the FoFA Regulations that came into effect on 1 July 2014 have ceased to have effect. Accordingly, the FoFA laws implemented by
December 03, 2014
The ABC of setting up a self managed super fund
Whether it’s naming the super fund, or naming the corporate trustee, Bryce Figot advises clients to keep things simple – or risk running into problems further down the track. After years of experience in the superannuation industry, I have formed some opinions on what works best – and what doesn’t work so well – when
December 03, 2014
Rates hold as RBA continues to wait and see
At its final board meeting of 2014, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has kept interest rates unchanged at 2.50 per cent. Loan Market Chairman, Sam White says the decision to leave rates unchanged is the right one, particularly as there are some early indications of property market moderation. “While activity has remained solid, we’re starting to see
December 02, 2014
Aussie equities manager urges investors to embrace innovation in 2015
The clear winners in the year ahead will be Australian companies positioned to profit from innovation and disruption, which means investors should be choosing their stocks accordingly, according to Mark Arnold, Chief Investment Officer at Hyperion Asset Management. The effects of disruption and innovation on the investment landscape is a key theme in Hyperion’s year
December 02, 2014
Morningstar upgrades Bennelong, Colonial First State Small-Caps, downgrades Kinetic, Allan Gray
Morningstar today released its Sector Wrap-Up for small-cap Australian share strategies, covering 33 individual managed fund strategies accounting for about 80.0 percent of category assets, as well as three exchange-traded funds and two listed investment companies. We evaluate funds, ETFs, and LICs at the same time to enable investors and advisers to make the most
December 01, 2014
Centric Wealth beefs up domestic equities portfolio, appoints Vinva to manage $100 million
Centric Wealth, part of the Findex Group, has announced the inclusion of Vinva Investment Management to its Australian Equities portfolio via the launch of Australian Equities Extension Fund (“the Fund”). Kieran Canavan, Chief Investment Officer for Findex said that seeding the Fund was consistent with providing the best of breed investment opportunities to investors consistent
December 01, 2014
Lonsec upgrades Market Vectors Australian Property ETF to Recommended Index
Market Vectors, the exchange traded fund business of Van Eck Global, announced today that Lonsec has upgraded its Market Vectors Australian Property ETF to “Recommended Index”. Matthew McKinnon, Director, Intermediary and Institutions, Market Vectors ETFs and Van Eck Global in Australia said, “The Market Vectors Australian Property ETF (ASX code: MVA) is the only ETF with
December 01, 2014
Effective risk profiling continues to be a key contributor to confidence in advice
In the UK, confidence in financial advice has grown steadily over recent years. Core to that improvement has been a strong commitment to suitable personal advice with risk profiling central. In contrast, in Australia, confidence by consumers in the advice industry is hovering at a low and most people won’t go near a financial adviser.
December 01, 2014
As the credits roll, time to reflect on 2014’s Tales of the Unexpected
Finalising my thoughts on what 2015 holds for investors, I reminded myself of what I said a year ago. Doing so brought to mind a television series that was popular in the late 1970s; Tales of the Unexpected always ended with an intriguing twist. There have been more than a few of these so far
December 01, 2014
ASX completes investment in Yieldbroker
ASX and Yieldbroker today announced that ASX’s investment in Yieldbroker has successfully completed. A proposal for ASX to acquire a 49% shareholding in Yieldbroker for a total of $65 million was announced on 18 September 2014. The investment makes ASX a shareholder in Yieldbroker alongside ANZ, CBA, Citi, Deutsche Bank, J.P. Morgan, Macquarie, NAB, Royal
November 28, 2014
Business brokers anticipate an upsurge in practice movement
A spike in the sale of financial planning practices is tipped following the clarification of grandfathering provisions under the Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) laws, according to Paul Tynan, chief executive officer of Connect Financial Service Brokers. “I’ve had a spike of people selling, I’ve never had more sellers than buyers, but there’s a few
November 28, 2014
