As the government pulls the watchdog’s teeth, co-regulation starts at home
The financial planning industry can no longer rely as heavily as it has on the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to find and chuck out the industry’s bad apples. Over the coming four years the budget of the corporate watchdog will be cut by about $120 million. ASIC chairman Greg Medcraft told Senate Estimates
June 10, 2014
The best way to generate strong referrals is also the simplest
More than 90 per cent of financial planners’ clients would be happy to refer friends and family to their planner, but a recent survey by corporate coaching and leadership consultancy iCommunicate indicates that 77 per cent of these people have never even been asked for a referral. Speaking at a workshop run last week in
June 10, 2014
ETP Landscape: Fixed income on record year-to-date pace
GLOBAL ETP FLOWS REACH $20.8BN IN MAY DRIVEN BY FIXED INCOME AND EUROPEAN EQUITY May global ETP flows were marked by demand for fixed income and non-US equity as interest rates fell further and investors continued to search for relative value outside the US. Global fixed income inflows of $14.1bn were paced by longer duration
June 09, 2014
Assets of ETFs and ETPs listed in Europe reached US$459 billion, a new record
As the government pulls the watchdog’s teeth, co-regulation starts at home https://www.professionalplanner.com.au/featured-posts/2014/06/10/as-the-government-pulls-the-watchdogs-teeth-co-regulation-starts-at-home-28650/ “We will rely more on the intelligence we get from misconduct reports and the complaints we receive.” That statement is being interpreted as a call to the financial planning industry to step up, and to ETFs and ETPs listed in the Europe gathered
June 09, 2014
SMAs are more tax-efficient than managed funds: Crystal Wealth
Managed accounts in the form of IMAs, SMAs or MDAs are re-emerging as a more transparent, controllable, flexible and tax-efficient way of investing than managed funds, says John McIlroy executive director of Crystal Wealth Partners. With full legal ownership of a ‘professionally managed’ portfolio of stocks resting with the investor under a managed account structure
June 06, 2014
Great financial planning finally has a value: 23 per cent more in retirement
Financial planners are familiar with alpha and beta as drivers of long-term investment portfolio returns; but now there’s a third letter to add to the lexicon – gamma – and according to Morningstar, it’s the value created that can be directly attributed to sound financial planning. Portfolios optimised using five techniques identified by David Blanchett,
June 06, 2014
Born again: The advice industry is set for a radical transformation
The number of unsettled advisers is swelling and they’re about to start agitating for change. Ray Miles explores their options. There may only be a handful of sizable independently-owned dealer groups left due to consolidation, however, there are hundreds of well-run small advice businesses. Some hold their own Australian Financial Services Licence. Others are licensed
June 06, 2014
In Focus: The name is bond…corporate bond
An individual in Europe can walk into a local bank and buy a corporate bond for the equivalent of only $1000. In some countries, investing in bonds issued by major companies is as natural and as simple as investing in a term deposit. In Australia that’s not so much the case. The domestic corporate bond market is, in many respects, quite underdeveloped. That is
June 06, 2014
SSFS eyes scaled, technology-assisted financial advice to boost productivity
Scaled financial advice delivered through technology-mediated channels will underpin State Super Financial Services’ (SSFS) approach in the near future, according to the head of the public sector dealer group. With around 160 financial planners, a number that has been steadily growing, SSFS provides financial advice to members of the Australian public sector – a potential
June 04, 2014
The times they are a-changin’ the compliance value proposition
Like the themes alluded to in the title of Bob Dylan’s classic song, our industry is undergoing a period of overwhelming change. The last few years have seen the introduction of an ongoing cavalcade of increasingly complex regulatory and best practice requirements. Amongst all that change (and proposed change) one thing remains constant: a savvy
June 04, 2014
The financial planner’s role in avoiding a retirement train wreck
Constant changes to superannuation policy make it practically impossible to plan for retirement, which is why Australian workers must take saving and investing for retirement into their own hands. Many of the baby boomers approaching retirement have only been contributing an incremental amount to superannuation for 20 years. As a result, the majority of people
June 04, 2014
