ASX announces new mFund partners
ASX this week welcomed four new partners to its mFund Settlement Service – Donaldson Burston, Platinum Asset Management, Select Asset Management and Smarter Money Investments. All have chosen mFund to boost their distribution capability to the direct investor and growing SMSF markets, as well as to take advantage of the service’s operational efficiencies. Marcus Christoe,
September 12, 2014
Forensic portfolio analysis can help ensure FoFA compliance
Ensuring all client investment portfolios comply with the Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) regulations, even those of legacy clients, is crucial. This is magnified inside institutionally-owned dealer groups, where legacy books of insurance, superannuation and investment clients likely runs into billions of dollars. The current period of intense scrutiny from the regulator, the Parliamentary Joint Committee
September 12, 2014
Financial planners urged to get involved in philanthropy as an example to clients
The high-profile former financial planner Kevin Bailey has urged the financial planning community get more involved in philanthropy as a way of building better businesses and deepening client relationships. Speaking at a Stella Network event on philanthropy in Sydney, Bailey, a director of Shadforth Financial Group (SFG) until its sale to IOOF last month, said
September 12, 2014
No one said this was easy: the rotation that most investors missed
How investors come to look back on 2014 will in part be determined by how they positioned themselves for two rotations. One was widely expected but failed to happen. The other was predicted by few but is well underway. No one said this was easy. The call that didn’t happen was the expected swing from bonds
September 12, 2014
New research shows Aussie SMEs are cautiously embracing disruptive finance
Recent research has found early signs that small to medium businesses are turning to disruptive solutions to solve common financing and cashflow problems. Long payment terms and difficulty accessing bank loans is driving their search for better forms of finance. Those who have not yet explored new models are feeling the credit squeeze, with 40%
September 11, 2014
Australians’ intentions to invest overseas reduces however high net worth and advised investors remain optimistic
While overall demand by Australian investors for most investments has slowed, HNW investors are showing little of the same nervousness of the broader investment community, according to the August Certitude Global Investing Intentions Index (CGIII). The CGIII, which collates the views of over 600 actively engaged leading investors and measures their net demand for global
September 11, 2014
Australian median house price shows modest growth for the June quarter
The latest edition of the Bendigo Bank/REIA Real Estate Market Facts Report identifies some interesting trends around Australia that should prove useful for people seeking suitable residential or investment properties across several price points. Dennis Bice, Executive Retail, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank said “The Australian weighted average median house price is now $617,200 or 13.2%
September 10, 2014
Zenith 2014 Exchange Traded Funds Sector Review
Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) have experienced another strong year of growth to July 31 2014, reaching a market capitalisation of $12.3 billion, up 47.5%. Product development across the sector flattened out from the highs of 2011 and 2012 with a large amount of replication occurring across the issuers as the market continued to develop a
September 10, 2014
Remove yourself from the noise and don’t forget defensive assets: Crowe Horwath
Accountancy and financial advice specialist, Crowe Horwath, has urged investors to maintain a long-term approach to their investment portfolios and avoid pushing out of defensive assets in pursuit of stronger returns. Released today, the Crowe Horwath 2014 Ten Best Investment Ideas Half Year Progress Report provides an update on 10 key themes and trends identified
September 10, 2014
Inside the Most Trusted Adviser Network: How to get there, and how to stay there
The few dozen financial planners named last month as Australia’s “most trusted advisers”occupy an exalted place in the financial planning industry. But while the Most Trusted Adviser Network (MTAN) is an exclusive club, it is not a closed shop. Entry is potentially available to any planner who measures up. The MTAN is designed to deliver
September 10, 2014
Divisions eroding between industry super and external financial planners
Another industry superannuation fund is expected to roll out a member-advice program similar to the one kicked off by Cbus and the Financial Planning Association (FPA) earlier this year. A program to make select FPA-member financial planners available to Cbus members has been run as a pilot program since January and launched nationally on September 1, as first reported
September 10, 2014
In it for the duration: Why advisers need to get flexible to meet clients’ return expectations
There’s an investment saying which is as old as it is popular: It’s all about time in the market, not timing the market. Time is indeed a crucial yardstick of valuation, and when it comes to bonds, so too is duration. Bond duration is a measure of a portfolio’s sensitivity to changes in interest rates
September 10, 2014
