AMP North hits $10 billion FUA, up from $2 billion in just three years
AMP’s flagship wrap platform North has hit $10 billion in Funds Under Advice (FUA), a five-fold increase since it launched as a full wrap platform with $2 billion in FUA in 2011. AMP Director of Superannuation Patricia Montague said North’s strong growth was driven by investment in the platform features increasing its appeal to customers.
February 26, 2014
Findex adds a third arm as it takes financial planning online
Fresh from its successful bid for financial planning business Centric Wealth, Financial Index Wealth Accountants (Findex) has launched an online advice offering. Called Movo, the launch gives Findex presence in three key advice market segments: the high-net-worth segment through Centric; the mid-market through the Findex brand, which includes a telephone-based client service capability; and the
February 25, 2014
Don’t lose sight of who regulation is ultimately meant to serve
There’s an emerging trend in the debate about regulation of financial services around the world. It demonstrates that some people have apparently learned nothing from history, and are so blinded to what they should have learned that they are likely (and quite happy) to wreak the same havoc on investors and taxpayers next time around.
February 25, 2014
Avoid investment bandwagons if you don’t know where they’re going
Emerging markets represent 13 per cent of the value of the world’s stock markets today and a third of global economic output. That compares with just 1 per cent of market capitalisation and 18 per cent of global GDP 30 years ago. The developing world is no longer a niche interest for adventurous investors –
February 25, 2014
New dealer group launches low-cost investment solution
Independently-owned dealer group GPS Wealth has slashed investment fees in half by implementing a Managed Discretionary Account (MDA) solution and turning its back on expensive master trusts and wrap platforms. New clients of GPS Wealth pay an average investment management fee of between 0.6 and 0.8 per cent of assets under advice compared to fees
February 25, 2014
Sending out fee disclosure statements on December 19 was not a waste of time
They say in business, timing is everything. Rob Ferguson explains that when you get the timing completely wrong, that saying really hurts. For a variety of reasons, we decided to send out a significant batch of our fee disclosure statements (FDSs) on December 19, 2013. As many would appreciate, the preparation and execution was costly
February 25, 2014
AMP launches first whole of wealth App
AMP has launched Australia’s first fully integrated ‘whole of wealth’ mobile app to drive customer engagement with their finances – as Newspoll research shows a quarter of working Australians know little or nothing about their superannuation investments. The AMP.Own Tomorrow app is the first in Australia where customers can access their banking, superannuation, insurance and
February 23, 2014
Treasury invites input on how to deregulate SMSF sector
Treasury has invited the self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) industry to provide views and ideas on reducing the regulation of the sector, as part of the government’s philosophy of reducing the regulatory burden on business. Rob Heferen, executive director of the Australian Treasury revenue group told the 2014 SPAA SMSF National Conference that “the broad philosophy
February 23, 2014
It’s financial product advice, not property, that worries ASIC
ASIC commissioner Greg Tanzer says ASIC has “no particular problem” with SMSFs investing in real property but it is concerned that advice to invest in property is being improperly provided to trustees. “People provide a financial service if they provide financial product advice,” Tanzer told the 2014 SPAA SMSF National Conference in Brisbane. Financial product
February 23, 2014
Pick me! Pick me! How pitching properly can be a financial planner’s greatest skill
Learning how to connect and engage with clients and potential clients is a crucial weapon in the financial planner’s armory that is too often overlooked in favour of technical skills and compliance issues. Andrew Klein, MC of the 2014 SPAA SMSF National Conference and director of presentation skills at Spike Presentations, says whether it’s a
February 23, 2014
Helping financial planners get to the bottom of what women want
Financial planners need to boost women’s confidence in finance and investing in order to harness the growing clout of females when it comes to money. Financial services executive, Patricia Curtin, told a “Women want more!” session at the 2014 SPAA SMSF National Conference in Brisbane that the role of women in financial affairs is growing,
February 23, 2014
Chant West: super fund performance to January 2014
A pull-back in major share markets sent super funds on the retreat in January. The median growth fund (61 to 80% allocation to growth assets) returned -0.9% for the month, pulling back the return for the seven months of the financial year to date to 8.4%. This was the first negative month this financial year
February 20, 2014
