Who is the head of AMP Capital’s SMSF business?
AMP Capital, the funds management arm of AMP, is building a new business unit to service the lucrative self-managed superannuation fund market. It has appointed former head of National Australia Bank online trading, Tim Keegan, to the newly created position of head of SMSF. Keegan oversaw the development of NAB’s online trading business nabtrade, which
October 24, 2013
Aged-care system changes add to complexity
Private equity-backed financial planning firm Centric Wealth has warned that sweeping changes to the aged-care system will add further complexity for elderly Australians and their families, but create opportunities for financial advisers. The recently legislated aged-care reforms will introduce new carer and pension entitlement rules from July 1, 2014, and make it impossible for some
October 24, 2013
Webb departs Perpetual for First State Super
Perpetual’s head of multi-manager funds, Damien Webb, will leave the listed funds manager and reunite with former colleague Richard Brandweiner at First State Super in the New Year. Webb’s resignation follows a string of recent departures at Perpetual as it restructures its internal product and research teams. In September, Nigel Douglas, formerly Perpetual’s head of
October 22, 2013
The latest Alpha mail
Paul Melling Retirement Planning, based in Heidelberg in Melbourne, is the latest firm to join Alpha Group, the collective of Victoria-based independently owned financial planning practices. Alpha Group, which was established in the late 1990s to support and facilitate the sharing of ideas between like-minded advisers, held its annual conference in early October. It was
October 22, 2013
Why it’s still worth investing in bonds
Bond markets reacted quickly in May and June when the US Federal Reserve (the Fed) indicated it would begin winding back its bond-buying economic stimulus program earlier than expected. Bond prices plunged and yields in all the major bond markets rose sharply (the two move in opposite directions). Investors interpreted the Fed’s hints as a
October 22, 2013
Centric champions in-house solutions
Centric Wealth, the financial services company backed by CHAMP Private Equity, will develop new in-house investment solutions for financial advisers and their clients as part of plans to expand its product and services business. The group currently offers five investment funds including the Centric DHA Residential Property Fund, which recently received an AA+ rating from
October 22, 2013
The modern family challenge
The percentage of families with both parents working has jumped 18 percentage points to 58 per cent since the 1980s while more than a quarter of women are now their family’s main breadwinner, according to the latest AMP.NATSEM report. The report, which analyses data from a variety of sources spanning 2001 to 2011, found more
October 22, 2013
Rowe: due respect for financial planners
The chair of the Financial Planning Association has called for greater respect to be paid to the role played by planners in the financial services “ecosystem”. Matthew Rowe says the language of product, sales and distribution remains entrenched within financial institutions, and an ongoing challenge for the community is to change that language in order
October 18, 2013
Balmain responds to turmoil directly
The changing demands of self-managed super fund (SMSF) trustees as they enter retirement, and concerns over potential barriers between asset managers and investors created by platforms, have prompted the boutique fund manager Balmain Funds to adopt a different tack to getting its wares to market. Property market veteran and Balmain chief executive officer, Steve Tunley,
October 18, 2013
FPA Professional Congress – Photo gallery
With 1200 delegates, 97 per cent of whom are practicing financial planners, and more than 60 international visitors, the inaugural FPA Professionals Congress marks the beginning of a new era of financial planning in Australia.
October 17, 2013
