Topdocs further simplifies cash account applications for SMSFs
Financial advisers will be able to set up a self-managed super fund and apply electronically for a Macquarie Cash Management Account (Macquarie CMA) via the Topdocs’ Online Document Portal using just one online form. This not only removes the need for the adviser to log in and out of two separate websites to initiate a
February 18, 2014
Stackpool’s consumer call-to-arms puts financial planning industry on notice
Veteran financial planning consultant Jim Stackpool has launched a spirited campaign to educate the public about the benefits of seeking advice from non-conflicted, independent financial planners, and to introduce a new certification standard for financial planning firms that measure up to certain criteria. The following is an edited transcript of a speech given by Stackpool
February 14, 2014
Apart from conflicts of interest, why else do planners avoid asset-based fees?
When an asset-based fee is equated to a commission – or described as “commission by another name” – it elicits a heated response. We saw that notably in a recently reported exchange between David Whitely of Industry Super Australia (ISA), Mark Rantall of the Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA), and John Brogden of the
February 14, 2014
Refocus on soft skills to deliver the best post-retirement advice
After a considerable period when many financial planners have been focused on compliance and technical skills, the managing director of Securitor and Licensee Select for BT Financial Group, Matt Englund, says it’s time they were reminded of the value of the “soft” skills that go along with the job. Particularly when it comes to dealing
February 14, 2014
Lateral thinking and discipline to pick the winners in the new tech race
For those of us whose first experience of extraordinary stock-market delusions was the dot.com bubble at the end of the 1990s, the past few weeks have felt quite like the old days. In separate announcements, Facebook and Twitter have shown, first, why investors are once again falling in love with new technology and, second, the
February 14, 2014
Free your mind: Why Rick Di Cristoforo exited the matrix
After a decade at the helm of Matrix Planning Solutions, Rick Di Cristoforo says it was obvious the time had come for a change. Di Cristoforo delivered Matrix from the teeth of the global financial crisis (GFC), and then guided it through the upheaval of the Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) regulatory reform and the
February 13, 2014
Learning how to listen differently is the secret to great post-retirement advice
Financial planners need to develop a specialised set of skills to deal effectively with clients in the post-retirement phase of their lives, according to James Grant, executive manager of wealth management for Industry Fund Services (IFS). Grant says the challenges that financial planners face include “understanding the members’ goals and not automatically translating that into
February 13, 2014
Investors breath life into a falling margin lending market
Key findings of the Investment Trends September 2013 Margin Lending Investor Report: – Returning investor confidence is stoking some life into margin lending through the direct channel – The number of investors who plan to start using margin lending in the next 12 months is 37% higher than in 2012 – Existing margin lending users
February 13, 2014
Fox on the FoFA amendments: attitude, not legislation, determines professionalism
With the ongoing noise about the future of car manufacturing in Australia, I have more than once considered how this will play out in our unique V8 Supercar racing competition – in particular, the showcase event, The Bathurst 1000. I remember growing up in Perth and getting up at 5.30am to watch the pre-race broadcast
February 13, 2014
Campo on why FoFA changes compromise consumer protection
The raison d’être for this publication is to serve the professional financial planning community. So it is a safe bet that you, the financial planners reading this publication, would consider yourselves to be professionals. If so, you should be extremely alarmed by proposals, advocated by sections of the financial services industry, to dilute the best
February 13, 2014
Rantall on why FoFA changes do not compromise consumer protection
Our support for repealing certain aspects of the Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) legislation was made clear on December 20, 2013. In short, we do not share the view that key consumer protections are compromised. Read Robbie Campo’s views on why the FoFA amendments undermine consumer protection Read Brad Fox’s views on the FoFA amendments and
February 11, 2014
Why control freaks struggle but working with accountants is the key to winning SMSF clients
Learning to let go, acting as a true adviser instead of prescribing investments, and working closely with accountants are among the keys to successfully winning and retaining self-managed super fund (SMSF) trustees as clients, according to a leading industry analyst. Recep Peker, a senior analyst with Investment Trends, says financial planning firms that create a
February 11, 2014
