What is the minimum qualification for a financial planner in your firm?
Readers of Professional Planner are invited to take part in the second SLICE financial planning survey, which focuses on business growth, succession planning and the impact of the proposed changes to FoFA. The survey takes about five minutes to complete. You can CLICK HERE to go straight to the survey website. Among other questions in the
March 23, 2014
RI Advice Group launches innovative online estate planning program
RI Advice Group (formerly RetireInvest) today announced the launch of an Estate Planning Program to its network of over 170 advisers across Australia. Commenting on the launch, Head of RI Advice Group, Darren Whereat said: “It’s important that we connect with the next generation of our current clients and provide quality guidance on this critical
March 21, 2014
Blue Sky to acquire Investment Science hedge fund
Blue Sky Alternative Investments Limited (Blue Sky) is pleased to announce it has entered into an greement to acquire all of the shares in Investment Science Pty Ltd (ISPL), a multiaward winning fund manager with approximately $70 million in assets under management. ISPL’s key personnel have a strong investment track record and will continue to manage the ISPL
March 21, 2014
Lonsec reviews Market Vectors Australian Equal Weight ETF
Market Vectors ETFs (Market Vectors), the exchange traded fund (ETF) business of US-based investment manager Van Eck Global, today announced it has received an ‘Investment GradeIndex’ rating from research house, Lonsec, for its recently listed Market Vectors Australian Equal Weight ETF (ASX code: MVW). Market Vectors Australian Equal Weight ETF is designed to track a
March 21, 2014
Accountants must move soon or face licensee capacity constraints
The chief executive officer of Count Financial, David Lane, has urged accountants seeking a solution to the end of the licensing exemption to act soon or face running into a June 2016 logjam. Lane says there will be many thousands of accountants seeking a licensing solution between now and 2016. He said it typically takes
March 21, 2014
Risk adviser remuneration ignored in latest FoFA amendments
The issue of adviser remuneration for the provision of risk-related financial advice remains unresolved, despite the government’s recent announcement of proposed changes to the best interest duty provisions of Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) regulations. Dante De Gori, the Financial Planning Association of Australia’s general manager for policy and conduct, says they were “surprised” the
March 21, 2014
Government limits commissions on provision of general advice
The Federal Government has announced amendments to its general advice commission exemptions under the Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) legislation, which could drastically limit the payment of commissions for general advice by reintroducing an “employee-only” rule. This would mean financial product providers could not receive commission-based remuneration for providing general advice to consumers. Various industry
March 21, 2014
In focus: Eye on the asset pie
Brendan Swift asks just how much the industry has learned some six years after the market catastrophes that defined 2007-08. The global financial crisis (GFC) forced the wealth management industry to reconsider long-held tenets about portfolio construction and the role of strategic asset allocation. Full In Focus feature, Eye on the asset pie, available here. The
March 20, 2014
Exclusive: FPA chair says professionals ‘cannot support’ FoFA commission amendment
The government should resist attempts by institutions to create a system that allows them to drive the sale of product through their own networks without an obligation to investigate the needs of the consumer or to provide a solution that is in the consumer’s best interests. By Matthew Rowe. I stand for the consumers of Australia.
March 19, 2014
Fighting this fire is a test the profession can’t afford to fail
There is a battle being waged at the moment for the trust and the confidence of the Australian public. It might be the financial planning industry’s first real test of professionalism, and it’s a test it cannot afford to fail. When amendments to the Future of Financial Advice legislation become the topic of major newspaper
March 19, 2014
Accountants urged to grab ‘significant’ revenue opportunities in licensing regime change
Accounting firms have an opportunity to introduce a range of significant revenue-enhancing services under the new licensing regime that comes into effect on July 1, 2016, according to Count Financial. Today in Sydney Count will formally unveil its response to the new licensing regime, and in the lead up to that announcement the Commonwealth Bank-owned
March 19, 2014
‘Save Our FoFA’ campaign gathers pace as impact of amendments dawns on consumers
Christopher Zinn, the former head of communications and campaigns for consumer group CHOICE, says opposition to proposed amendments to the Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) reforms is growing as consumers realise what the changes really mean. Zinn has launched a “Save Our FoFA“ campaign, designed to harness consumer support to oppose the planned amendments. He
March 19, 2014
