Sydney adviser guilty, another faces charges
Former senior financial adviser, James Hobson, has been convicted and sentenced in the Sydney District Court following an Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) investigation. Hobson was a senior financial adviser employed by Binma, which operates the North Sydney firm Noall & Co, and which was an authorised representative of Professional Investment Services.
May 22, 2012
Challenge and consider changing your licensee
The professional obligations of financial planners trump those of their employers and should guide their behaviour in dealing with practices or processes that may be proposed by licensees, according to the chairman of the Financial Planning Association (FPA) of Australia, Matthew Rowe.
May 17, 2012
Legal view: regulation won’t end scams
A senior finance-industry solicitor says the new era of fee-for-service will not automatically end the rorts offered by some commission-based schemes of the past. Principal of Townsends Business & Corporate Lawyers, Peter Townsend, claims Trio, Storm and Westpoint-type disasters could happen again despite the introduction of financial reforms.
May 17, 2012
Advisers resilient but cautious on SMSFs
Financial advisers are overwhelmingly optimistic on the 12-month outlook for the industry, but doubts remain around the self-managed-super-fund (SMSF) segment. According to research from AIA Australia, advisers expect to see growth coming from families and the self-employed.
May 15, 2012
Investors sweat as Spaniards protest austerity
Spain’s centre-right government has announced fresh austerity measures as a response to its deepest economic crisis in decades, reigniting the austerity-versus-growth debate For investors, the whole eurozone crisis must appear to be frustratingly circular
May 15, 2012
FOS says stick to code ‘lock, stock and barrel’
Working to the FPA’s code of practice would not necessarily stop clients complaining about advice, Maynard said, but in Melbourne she told the roadshow that “if you follow the code lock, stock and barrel, you will never have a problem at FOS”. Guidance on codes of practice Code consulting
May 10, 2012
Rate cuts raise questions around cash positions
Zurich’s Patrick Noble ponders the new dynamic of banks trying to manage the expectations of politicians and mortgage holders and wonders if cash is still the answer for investors. Can cash carry it? Is cash still the answer
May 08, 2012
FoFA-consistent codes take time, says Kell
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has released guidelines on how signing up to a professional code can, in theory, exempt advisers from the opt-in obligation. We have had the power to approve codes under the Corporations Act since 2000, under s1101A
May 03, 2012
Consumers can’t tell good advice from bad
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) shadow shopping research has uncovered an alarming inability among consumers to differentiate between good quality and poor quality advice. A critical part of the shadow-shopping survey was 60-minute interviews with each of the shadow shoppers after they had received advice and reported back to ASIC.
May 01, 2012
Tax extension arrives
… at speed
The Financial Planning Association (FPA) has welcomed the Australian Government’s decision to extend the exemption granted to financial advisers who also work as tax agents. The exemption from the taxation-agent services regime will now run until 30 June 2013.
May 01, 2012
May 2012: Digital content
Please note: This case study is to be read in conjunction with Assyat David's article, "Determining the right investment structure for clients", on pp 28-29 of the May 2012 edition of Professional Planner.
April 30, 2012
Are Aussie super funds
overweight equities?
Over the last few months, there has been a significant amount of discussion about how exposed default superannuation funds are to equities If Australians are too heavily invested in equities, now is a less than ideal time to do anything about it. No guarantees for equities
April 26, 2012
