Leading advisory firms launch new MDA service
Specialist managed discretionary account operator, managedaccounts.com.au will soar past the $1 billion in assets under administration mark after launching services with two of Australia’s largest boutique financial advisory firms. Sydney-based Affinity Wealth Services and Melbourne-based Redgum Wealth Group have both integrated the managedaccounts.com.au MDA solution into their businesses. Affinity Wealth Services, which spun out of AMP-owned
March 17, 2014
Thinking about aged care should start now – for clients and financial planners
Financial planning businesses that are not already thinking about how to provide aged-care services to clients should start now, before it’s too late, says Michael Monaghan, managing director of State Super Financial Services (SSFS). Monaghan says aged care is a growing and increasingly complex area of advice but effectively meeting client needs requires access to
March 15, 2014
How is your website performing – or do you even know?
Ella Tassi and Darlene White explain the fundamentals of Google Analytics – a simple but powerful tool for monitoring the performance and impact of your company’s website. As a professional financial planner, you’ve probably had a website for some time. But the question is: how well is it working? Google Analytics is a free online
March 15, 2014
Assessing why investors are so sanguine about events in Ukraine
As Crimea holds its controversial vote on secession, the outlook for Ukraine is more uncertain than ever. Investors usually hate uncertainty yet they seem to have shrugged off the latest geo-political upheavals. The rout of March 3, which saw Russian shares lose 12 per cent alongside a headlong rush towards the usual havens of gold,
March 15, 2014
Overall masterfund business jumped 20.1% during 2013
Plan For Life – Platform Wrap Media Release – December 2013 Overall Masterfund business jumped 20.1%, or $94.3bn during 2013 to stand at $564.3bn; they climbed $22.6bn, or 4.2% in the December quarter alone on the back of buoyant investment markets resulting from all the quantitative easing / low interest rate policies of governments worldwide.
March 14, 2014
The A to Z of managed accounts
The managed account universe is becoming an alphabet soup of offerings. Crystal Wealth provides a dictionary of terminology to help investors understand the different types of investment services being offered today. Managed accounts are quite different to managed funds. With a managed fund, units in the fund are bought at a given price and investments go
March 14, 2014
AllianceBernstein: Politics is the key to understanding China’s growth story
As China moves to a more monetary-based growth model, we expect the government will surprise many by meeting any challenges that arise with long-term, policy-based solutions, instead of quick political fixes. There’s an old saying in the retail industry – so old, it predates the online retailing revolution – that the key to success can
March 14, 2014
The professional loneliness of the genuinely independent financial planner
True independence is the road less travelled in financial planning. Ben Smythe explains why he decided to take that route anyway. When I hear people, in all walks of life, describing themselves as “independent”, I immediately assume that person’s opinion is going to be objective. I am not so naïve as to believe it will always be the
March 13, 2014
Is the industry strong enough to embrace real self-regulation?
Replacing FoFA with a genuine self-regulation scheme would be easier than ever under a Coalition government – but Robert MC Brown wonders if financial planners have the courage to back such a bold move. View poll results: Is self-regulation for financial planning a realistic goal? If going it alone isn’t an option right now, maybe
March 13, 2014
If going it alone isn’t an option right now, maybe a partner is the answer
If self-regulation is a bridge to far for the financial planning industry, at least for the time being, then a co-regulatory model might be an achievable step in that direction in the shorter term. The majority of respondents to a Professional Planner poll in January said that self-regulation for financial planning is not a realistic
March 13, 2014
Tracking an emerging trend
Bronwen Moncrieff examines why global emerging markets have underperformed relative to developed markets. Over the 12-month period to November 30, 2013, investors in global equities (including emerging markets) enjoyed strong absolute returns. The MSCI World ex Australia ($A) Index and the MSCI Emerging Markets Free ($A) Index rose by 45.04 per cent and 18.34 per
March 13, 2014
CommInsure winner of PFL Life Company of the Year Awards 2013
CommInsure has won the Plan For Life / AFA Life Company of the Year 2013 overall Platinum Award. Award winners were announced at a black-tie premier event held at the Westin Hotel in Sydney on Wednesday 13th March 2014, recognising Life Insurance Company excellence in the provision of products and service to financial advisers. Zurich
March 13, 2014
