Royal commission could stretch already tight budgets: ASIC
Responding to the Senate Economics References Committee’s report into ASIC and Commonwealth Financial Planning (CFPL), the head of the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) has emphasised the regulator’s strength but also acknowledged its considerable limitations. Greg Medcraft, chairman of ASIC, said: “I’m not afraid to take on any big institution…if we want to pursue
June 30, 2014
FPA’s ‘silent majority’ urged to be vocal over changes to financial planning rules
Mark Rantall is incredulous that it took a financial planning catastrophe of the scale of Commonwealth Financial Planning (CFPL) before any meaningful action will be taken to improve the system and to better safeguard Australians against unscrupulous and shoddy financial planning practitioners. “Did it really take this? Did it take Mum and Dad Australians getting
June 30, 2014
SPAA technical conferences to get full debrief on FSI draft report
The Financial System Inquiry (FSI) interim report will take centre stage at the SMSF Professionals’ Association of Australian (SPAA) 2014 State Technical Conferences during July and August. The FSI’s interim report will be handed down on July 15, and participants will hear first-hand from Jordan George, SPAA’s senior manager, technical and policy, about its likely
June 30, 2014
ASIC urged to reload and take a long hard look at other AFSLs
Anyone who thinks they’ve dodged a bullet while Commonwealth Financial Planning (CFPL) has been in the sights of the Senate Economics References Committee had better think again. The committee’s “hugely significant” report, tabled yesterday, recommends that ASIC undertakes “intensive surveillance of other financial advice businesses that have recently been a source of concern, such as
June 27, 2014
ANZ digital app to further push group’s scaled advice channel
Delivering access to ANZ’s team of financial planners and wealth management products underpins a new digital application (app) the institution has just launched. Called Grow, it offers a combination of investments, pensions, insurance and retail banking services. ANZ Wealth claims the tool, which is currently only available on Apple devices but will soon also work
June 27, 2014
Criticisms of grandfathering miss the mark and fail to reflect the reality of advice
Recent comments about the “hypocrisy” of grandfathering provisions in the amended Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) legislation are wrong on many counts. The comments raise more questions than they answer. Let’s just look at some of the angles. Who gets the trail commission if the client cancels the trail or if the trail is cancelled because
June 27, 2014
Investment Trends releases new Global Online Broking Report
Investment Trends, a leading independent global researcher, has released the 2013 Global Online Broking Report, covering the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, France and Singapore. Over 90,000 traders and investors took part, making this one of the largest studies of the online broking industry ever conducted. The world’s most enthusiastic online traders “Australians remain
June 26, 2014
From go to whoa: why market entry and exit speed is driving direct life insurance growth
Innovative product development coupled with speed to rationalise non-performing insurance offers has helped underpin strong growth in Australia’s direct life risk segment. In 2013 we observed a spike of activity amongst direct insurers, increasing their range of products and features. And while product development was a key industry feature, so too was the rationalisation of
June 26, 2014
Senate committee tables report on inquiry into performance of ASIC
The Senate Economics References Committee has called for a Royal Commission into the conduct of Commonwealth Bank and its financial advisers, as it hands down a report that is scathing of both the banks’ supervision of its financial planners and of the performance of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission as the regulator. Check back here
June 26, 2014
National index reveals Gen X most likely to be insured – but big gaps remain
The second annual TAL Australian Financial Protection Index has revealed a big jump in the protection levels of Australians, particularly Generation X. The national Index score leaped 38% from 24.2 out of 100 last year to 33.5 this year, revealing Australians over the past year have taken a keener interest in their life insurance in
June 25, 2014
Grandfathering exposes hypocrisy at heart of FoFA amendments
Planned amendments to the Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) legislation expose hypocrisy in relation to conflicted remuneration that prevents financial planners fulfilling their best interests duty, a leading industry player has claimed. John Hewison, founder and managing director of Hewison Private Wealth, says a fiduciary responsibility is a black-and-white obligation. He says proposed amendments to
June 25, 2014
Internal adviser associations provide advocacy from within
Internal adviser associations such as the Professional Investment Services (PIS) Adviser Council play an important role as “a sounding board in both directions,” says the council’s chairman Paul Wright. “Its relative importance has probably waxed and waned as circumstances dictate…but certainly we’re very active at present,” Wright says, referring to its most recent teleconference meeting
June 25, 2014
