A new investment approach for emerging markets
Fast-growing emerging market economies have been an important source of returns for many investors over the last decade. However in the last year, returns from emerging markets have been more volatile. In order to gain the best risk-adjusted returns in future, investors need new strategies. While economic data supports a positive outlook for developed markets,
November 19, 2013
Dot.com bubble deja vu
There’s an expression that financial crises strike when everyone who lived through the last one retires and there’s no-one left who remembers. On that basis, the second dot.com bubble should have taken longer than 13 years to inflate. Surely many investment professionals observed the Twitter flotation with a looming sense of deja vu. These professionals
November 19, 2013
Investors bolster exposure to global equities
Investors and advisers are ramping up their exposure to international equities to pre-Global Financial Crisis levels in the pursuit of some stellar, past performance. The MSCI World ex-Australia Index returned 26.9 per cent in the year to October 31, 2013, beating the S&P/ASX 200 Index which returned 25.5 per cent over the same period. Global
November 15, 2013
Leaving a self-managed fund
A self-managed superannuation fund doesn’t have an expiry date but will generally end when the primary trustees die, unless there are also children in the fund. This is merely a function of Australia’s tax system, which requires most people to cash out their super in full once both members of a couple have died. When
November 15, 2013
Further regulation of life industry ahead: Asteron
If the life insurance industry doesn’t voluntarily change the way products are designed and financial advisers are remunerated then it’s only a matter of time before the regulators push for a ban on insurance commissions again, warns Asteron Life executive general manager Jordan Hawke. “The upfront commission model is under stress and the industry needs
November 14, 2013
New direct investor platform to shake up market
Financial advisers and accountants will be able to service, and transact for, members of AustralianSuper, HOSTPLUS and Telstra Super, with enhancements made to the UBS Direct to Member platform. UBS Platform Solutions Group, the securities trading and investment administration arm of investment bank UBS, developed the platform to provide super fund members with greater investment
November 14, 2013
Montgomery hires new head of distribution
Montgomery Investment Management, the Australian equities boutique set up by funds manager Roger Montgomery and backed by Magellan Financial Group, has hired former BlackRock head of retail Scott Phillips as head of distribution. Phillips, who left BlackRock in June, will work closely with chief executive and portfolio manager, David Buckland. Montgomery Investment Management was established
November 14, 2013
MLC slashes fees by almost 1 per cent
Rising long-term bond yields and improved investor sentiment has lead NAB Wealth & MLC to lower the fees on its retirement solution MLC MasterKey Investment Protection by up to 0.9 per cent. The product, which offers both protected capital and protected income, was designed for people over the age of 50 with accumulated savings of
November 14, 2013
Fixing FoFA without adding complexity
Assistant Treasurer Arthur Sinodinos is set to follow through on the Coalition Government’s pre-election promise to fix elements of the Future of Financial Advice reforms. On the top of Sinodinos’s list is the removal of the opt-in requirement and modifications to how the ban on commissions applies to insurance. The Treasurer has also signalled that
November 14, 2013
Using social media to promote your business
Businesses are increasingly connecting with customers via social media such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. An online advertisement, which could be a tweet or a Facebook page, may be a consumers’ first point of contact with a business. It may then continue to being a source of information. The challenge for financial advisers, from a
November 12, 2013
Sinodinos mulls advisers’ Christmas wish list
Assistant Treasurer and Financial Services Minister Arthur Sinodinos will review the Association of Independently-Owned Financial Professionals’ Christmas wish list, which was presented to him at the first meeting of the group’s Consultative Committee early this month. The committee, which is chaired by AIOFP director Peter Johnston, met with Sinodinos at the AIOFP national conference in
November 12, 2013
Pharos in acquisition mode
Private equity firm, Pharos Financial Group is in negotiations to buy two additional Queensland-based financial planning practices, under its Advance Equity Partners program. Since the launch of the Advance Equity Partners program in 2011, Pharos Financial Group has acquired interests, ranging between 35 and 100 per cent, in seven financial planning and accounting practices. Four
November 12, 2013
