From Rockingham to Brookvale: a financial planner’s odyssey
Last month James Walker-Powell chalked up 25 years in the business. This is an edited version of a speech he gave at an event to mark the occasion, reflecting on how he came to enter the financial planning industry in the first place Many people who come into my office look at the certificates on
June 18, 2014
PFL retail and wholesale managed funds data – 31 March 2014
Please note that our Media Releases covering Funds and Flows for the Retail and Wholesale Managed Funds markets for the March 2014 quarter have been released today. To view the media releases, go to: http://www.planforlife.com.au/market-updates.html March Quarter 2014 Headlines: – $7.5bn Growth in Retail Managed Funds during March Quarter 2014 – $11.5bn Growth in Wholesale Funds during March Quarter 2014
June 17, 2014
Equip launches MyPension – retirement income with a built‐in financial strategy
Equip will introduce Equip MyPension on 1 July 2014, a retirement income solution informed by the needs and priorities identified in member research commissioned by the fund last year. Members said they wanted a retirement product that combined the flexibility, accessibility and control of capital provided by an account based pension, and also helped them
June 17, 2014
Exchange traded funds have multiple benefits for managed accounts
Exchange traded products are worthy of consideration for use as a core building block of managed accounts and can provide multiple benefits to managed account providers, according to BetaShares. Speaking at the Institute of Managed Account Providers (IMAP) event in Sydney last week, Vinnie Wadhera, BetaShares’ Director of Institutional Business and National Accounts discussed the multiple applications
June 17, 2014
$7.5bn growth in retail managed funds during March Quarter 2014
Overall Retail Managed Funds ended the year to March up 14.2% to total $657.8bn. During the March quarter funds growth slowed to be just 1.1% as the rally on international stock markets over the past couple of years took a bit of a breather; this was despite the unabated, indeed unprecedented, coordinated fiscal stimulus and easy money
June 16, 2014
Demand from financial planners sparks development of new adviser portal
Unexpected demand from financial planners to help SMSF clients find income-producing investments has led boutique fund manager Balmain Private to start work on an adviser portal for its online mortgage investment platform. Balmain has to date originated, credit reviewed and funded in advance about $30 million of mortgages, predominantly over over commercial properties, that SMSF trustees access
June 16, 2014
Grandfathering of commissions not a long-term solution for financial planning dealer groups
Financial planning practices that aren’t already doing so need to migrate away from commissions and platform rebates to help maintain sustainable cash flows, warns Tony McDonald, director of T&C Consulting Services. This is particularly true for practice owners considering selling their business. While McDonald believes smaller, more nimble non-institutionally aligned dealer groups are addressing this
June 16, 2014
Are we there yet? The journey towards true professionalism
As Mao’s famous quote reminds us, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. And with hundreds of steps now behind it, Australia’s financial planning community is well down the path to becoming a profession. In fact, most of us are already there. Concurrently, Australian consumers are on a converging path of increasing
June 16, 2014
Bank ads: confusing, misleading, indecipherable
Most Australians believe bank advertisements are not only confusing, they are actively misleading, and very few people know how to correctly interpret the advertisements’ financial content. Those are key findings from new consumer research undertaken by People’s Choice Credit Union. The survey of 1520 people conducted by the Ehrenberg-Bass Marketing Institute found that 70.4% of
June 16, 2014
New rollover service a winner for Suncorp customers
Suncorp’s award winning Everyday Super continues to make super simpler for customers and boost their balances via a new paperless rollover service. The recently launched paperless rollover service enables customers to start the rollover process online using SuperStream technology. “The new rollover service is a win for customers because it replaces a cumbersome and lengthy
June 15, 2014
ASIC cuts highlight the need for better financial planning self-regulation
In making the transition towards professionalism, Australia’s financial planning sector needs to embrace more effective self-regulation, according to Richard Batten, partner and financial services legal specialist at Minter Ellison. He refers to the management of “bad apples” within the industry, especially in the context of this year’s budget, that has seen the Australian Securities and
June 13, 2014
FEATURE The true value of letting independents be independent
The option of being self-licensed need not be daunting if financial planners can find the right partner to work with. And if anecdotal evidence on the number of planners intending to acquire their own Australian financial services licence (AFSL) plays out for real, there will be a significant number looking for such a partner. Soula
June 13, 2014
