Morningstar announces Australian Superannuation Survey to 30 June 2014
Morningstar today published results of the Morningstar® Australian Superannuation Survey, providing comprehensive coverage of the performance of Australian-offered retirement savings vehicles to 30 June 2014. The Survey includes both commercial for-profit and industry superannuation options. Morningstar classifies funds according to a proprietary classification system created to facilitate meaningful peer-relative comparisons. Key findings Superannuation funds produced
July 17, 2014
Deal with minor parties sees FoFA regulations allowed, with more to come
The Senate yesterday voted 34-31 against disallowing regulations to the Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) legislation, after an 11th-hour deal struck with the Palmer United Party (PUP) and the Motoring Enthusiasts Party (MEP) that will see the government introduce additional regulations within 90 days. The Finance Minister, Senator Mathias Cormann, told the Senate that the
July 16, 2014
Industry or professional, if you’re talking about an association the difference matters
Commonwealth Bank’s decision that all of its financial planners – along with their managers and supervisors – must be members of an “approved” industry association is a welcome step. The announcement, revealed in an email to planners from Marianne Perkovic, CBA’s executive general manager of advice, should prompt a detailed examination of the differences between “industry”
July 16, 2014
SMSF administration coming into its own as trustees demand better investment reporting
SMSF trustees need access to unbundled and affordable administration and reporting solutions to help track the performance of their investment portfolios, Peter Dorrian writes. Exactly how the self-managed super fund (SMSF) sector has performed is anyone’s guess. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) regularly publishes statistics on the size, demographics and asset allocation of the SMSF
July 16, 2014
Financial System Inquiry focuses on variability of quality as biggest advice issue
The greatest issue facing consumers of financial planning services is the variability in quality, according to the Financial System Inquiry (FSI) interim report, published today. The report says many consumers have difficulty in telling the difference between good and bad advice; and that consumers generally are poor at assessing the risk inherent in some financial
July 15, 2014
Equity investors have ‘10 good reasons’ to be active rather than passive, says AllianceBernstein
There are “10 good reasons” why equity investors in today’s markets should consider an active strategy despite the temptations offered by a passive approach, global asset manager AllianceBernstein said today. “We understand the appeal of lower fees and simplicity, and many investors are sceptical about the ability of active managers to consistently beat a benchmark,”
July 15, 2014
CFPL reveals all planners to join an industry association by 2015
All financial planners employed by Commonwealth Financial Planning (CFPL) will be required to join an “approved” industry association by July 1, 2015. An email to bank staff from Marianne Perkovic, executive general manage of advice for Commonwealth Bank, says the requirement will also extend to the managers and supervisors of CFPL’s financial planners. CFPL will
July 14, 2014
If regulations are disallowed, what’s the future under FoFA?
The Opposition will lodge in the Senate as early as today a notice of intention to disallow regulations to the Corporations Amendment (Streamlining Future of Financial Advice) Bill 2014, paving the way for the regulations to be disallowed with immediate effect from tomorrow. Disallowing the regulations means that “original FoFA” – the law that came into
July 14, 2014
Back to basics: life insurance sector must harness greater levels of simplicity
Winston Churchill’s words, “Never let a good crisis go to waste”, are echoing in the minds of Australia’s life insurers this year. Yes, the industry is facing a challenging period, but far from packing up our bat and ball and going home, we’re taking the opportunity and making the investment to better understand our customers
July 14, 2014
A good compliance person these days is hard to find
Financial planning practices are struggling to find compliance staff with the right mix of industry experience and training, according to the head of a leading non-bank aligned licensee. This is being driven by a combination of global and domestic factors, including increased compliance requirements under the Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) regulatory regime. “There’s less
July 11, 2014
Anchors aweigh! How to stop your investment decisions being all at sea
The Dow Jones Industrials index has broken through 17,000 points for the first time while the S&P 500 is close to 2000. In the UK, the FTSE 100 is closing in on 7000. Do these round numbers matter? They shouldn’t but thanks to one of investment’s most dangerous behavioural biases they probably will. The FTSE
July 11, 2014
Abandoning conflicted remuneration a formula to turn base metal into gold
Along with attempting to write thought-provoking articles in this learned professional journal, I spend a considerable amount of time reading history. The latter helps me with the former because the story of the human race is full of amazing parallels and repetition. Take the story of the philosopher’s stone. Its discovery has been the dream
July 11, 2014
