Industry Updates

Professional Planner podcasts

Do you know what makes your clients really tick Why do some clients listen to what you say and stick with the plan, while some never seem to really buy in to the process? The reason it pays to know a client’s money “personality” is that it gives you an insight into why clients behave as they do when it comes to making decisions about money.

Global equities win battle of the asset classes

Fidelity’s global equities portfolio manager, Amit Lodha, has won the Sydney leg of the fund manager’s Battle of the Asset Classes, being awarded the bout on points from Fidelity’s Australian equities portfolio manager, Kate Howitt

New rules to lead services increase

The Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) regulations are tipped to lead to an increase in the demand for independent licensee services as growing numbers of financial planners consider the best way to provide advice to clients.

Eurozone debt fires concern

Jeff Hochman takes a technical analysts's look at the developing situation in the euro zone. With US data more reassuring lately and worries about a hard landing in China lessening, the worsening of the eurozone sovereign debt crisis fuels market concern.

Valuation confidence in FoFA compliance

Business valuations under the FoFA regime see significant change, write Stephen Prendeville and Steve Murray, but there is every reason for continuing confidence. The first recommendation for maintaining or improving business value is to move your business to a fee-based model at the earliest opportunity

Social media crucial to communication for planners

Yesterday, dealer group Australian Financial Services (AFS) launched a mobile application that will enable it to communicate more effectively with its own advisers, and announced plans for phase two of the project, which will empower its advisers to communicate with clients.

SPECIAL REPORT: Big-picture investing

Global thematic investing is an approach to investing that regards “the market” as being a single system or entity, and adopts a “big picture”perspective on the way the world works. Thematic investing

ETFs demand a different set of planner skills

Analysing exchange-traded funds (ETFs) requires different skills from analysing traditional managed funds, and using ETFs in client portfolios places a greater responsibility on financial planners, according to the US-based head of research firm AltaVista Research.

Will PIIGS in space come down to Earth?

Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain (the so-called PIIGS) are all suffering from financial Euro-fatigue It’s understandable why investors and voters are fed up with democratically elected politicians Technocrats have little credibility when it comes to the euro

FoFA delays possible says Shorten

The Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation, Bill Shorten, has given the clearest indication yet that the government will delay the implementation of its Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) reforms past July 1 this year.

‘Get it wrong and you are in a world of hurt’: Zurich

The UBS trading scandal last September was a stark reminder that some of the basic tenets of running a large global business are timeless Corporate complexity arises from multiple sources Get it wrong though and you are in a world of hurt.

‘Best interest’ has IFAs reconsidering market risk

Equities are not top of mind for many financial advisers at the moment but the IFA of the future will need to be part fund manager, with a close eye on both risk and return. While Lucas has a vested interest in risk with his boutique fund manager currently pushing a new service, Instreet Portfolio Check-Up, he claims too few financial planners understand the nature of market, sector and company specific risk when picking stocks.

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