ICAA: enough SMSF change
The Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia has urged the Australian Securities and Investment Commission not to make unnecessary changes to self-managed superannuation rules and will form a team to determine the practical implications of the regulator’s latest consultation paper on its 61,000 members. In her speech to the Institute of Chartered Accountants’ National SMSF Conference
September 19, 2013
Options multiply for alternatives exposure
Retail investors’ obsession with liquidity and low fees, combined with an insatiable appetite for yield, has pushed many dangerously into managed futures, according to Dominic McCormick, chief investment officer at Select Asset Management. McCormick, whose company has a retail distribution arrangement with global alternatives manager Neuberger Berman in Australia, said demand for daily liquidity, full
September 19, 2013
Investors need sharp eye for earnings
The much-anticipated Septaper by the US Federal Reserve turned out to be a fizzer. Bonds, equities and the Aussie dollar all performed well upon hearing the news. For now, the guessing game on policy moves continues, though it will be interesting to see how asset classes fare when the pressure in the liquidity hose eventually
September 19, 2013
Exemption a “fantastic opportunity” for Beacon
Beacon Financial Group is in negotiations to buy an accounting firm and will develop a new licensing solution for accountants, ahead of sweeping legislative changes. Peter Daly, managing director of Beacon Financial Group, said the abolition of the accountants’ exemption from July 1, 2016, created a “fantastic opportunity”, with Beacon preparing to offer three different
September 17, 2013
Reverse mortgages: stuck in a niche
Financial planners are missing out on a multi-billion-dollar opportunity, with the Australian reverse mortgage sector growing over 7 per cent in the last year and few advisers recommending equity-release products to retiring baby boomers. According to the Deloitte Actuaries and Consultants’ Australian Reverse Mortgage Survey, commissioned by the Senior Australians Equity Release Association (SEQUAL), more
September 17, 2013
Tooling up for investment strategy compliance
Many self-managed superannuation funds don’t meet the new investment strategy-compliance requirements while others are “unnecessarily worried” that they don’t, according to Meg Heffron, principal of SMSF administrator, Heffron. Heffron urged financial planners and accountants to brush up on changes to the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act, which now requires trustees to regularly review their investment strategies
September 17, 2013
Yellow Brick Road nears completion
Disillusioned financial planners and unhappy bankers will drive the growth of listed financial services company, Yellow Brick Road, as it approaches the final stage of a three-year project to lay the foundation for the group’s future. According to Matt Lawler, chief executive of Yellow Brick Road, the group is focused on expanding its distribution network
September 13, 2013
Financial Link Group attracts Titanium advisers
Beacon Financial Group’s new-look dealer, The Financial Link Group, has added 70 new authorised representatives, with Titanium Planners officially handing back its Australian Financial Services License to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Around 70 advisers, who were formerly with Titanium Planners, migrated to The Financial Link Group last week. This week the merged group,
September 13, 2013
Industry deconsolidation looms
Listed financial planning and investment group, SFG Australia, is bargaining on a major “deconsolidation” of the financial planning industry. Backing that call up, it is launching a service designed to provide critical business support services to practices that hold their own Australian financial services licence (AFSL). The new SFG business, Actuate Alliance Services, was born
September 12, 2013
Bombora Advice bags first practice
IOOF-owned Lonsdale Financial Group has lost one of its largest practices to newcomer, Bombora Advice. Melbourne-based risk specialist, Complete Risk Analysis, which is run by principal adviser Glenn Kerr and chief executive Nettie Handley, is the first member firm to join Bombora Advice since it opened for business in May. Complete Risk Analysis has six
September 12, 2013
Professional Planner Intelligence Series Insurance App – now available on the app store
The Professional Planner (PP) app provides up-to-the-minute information and in-depth analysis of issues vital to professional financial planners. The app is updated regularly with exclusive content that is not available in the Professional Planner print edition or on Professional Planner Online (PPO), as well featuring the best of the writing from Professional Planner’s expert contributors.
September 11, 2013
SMSF app September update – Now available
September 11, 2013
