FPA to advise Cbus members
The $20-billion construction and building industry superannuation fund, Cbus, has teamed up with the Financial Planning Association to make comprehensive, personal financial advice more accessible to Cbus’ 700,000 members. Under a pilot program launched on Monday, Cbus will provide client referrals to FPA members who meet select professional and location criteria. For example, practitioners must
October 15, 2013
Australian services set to ignite
Asian demand for Australia’s wealth management, distribution and financial planning expertise is set to “ignite”, according to a new report that lists wealth management as one of five growth industries worth an extra $250 billion to the national economy over the next 20 years. The paper, Positioning for Prosperity? Catching the next wave, is the
October 15, 2013
A standard of lesser quality?
The Institute of Public Accountants’ decision to abandon the Accounting Professional and Ethical Standards Board’s new financial planning standard, APES 230, and formally release an alternative for its 24,000 members has sparked a war of words among Australia’s powerful accounting bodies. On Monday, IPA released Pronouncement 11: Financial Planning Services, which was immediately criticised by
October 15, 2013
Advice: the growth driver for banks
Limited advice will account for 80 per cent of all new statements of advice (SOAs) in the next five years, based on internal chatter in the banks and institutions. According to Wayne Wilson, managing director of Rubik Financial, the banks are preparing to deliver advice en masse, with a general consensus that scaled advice will
October 11, 2013
Eggern ‘em on the Astute Wheel
A new web-based client engagement platform is helping advice businesses boost productivity by 30 per cent and lift profitability by up to 50 per cent, according to the system’s architect, Hans Egger. Over 300 advisers from 32 licensees have signed up to use Astute Wheel since it was launched by technology provider, Astute Wealth, last
October 11, 2013
SMSFs: the dos and don’ts
ASIC recently issued a consultation paper outlining additional disclosures that may be appropriate for advisers who recommend a client sets up an SMSF. Several of these make sense and should already be part of a discussion with the client at the establishment phase. However, the current proposals ignore the fact that there is no zero-risk
October 11, 2013
Web portal for retirees
Research house Lonsec has teamed up with actuarial and consulting firm Milliman to develop a retirement website for financial advisers. The Lonsec Retire website provides advisers with tools and strategies to construct objective-based retirement portfolios as well as access to white papers and research on topics such as longevity risk, sequencing risk and the politics
October 10, 2013
