ASIC asks mortgage brokers: Is your panel good enough?
Mortgage brokers will be required to satisfy themselves that recommending from within their lender panel is in the consumer’s best interests. And they should be able to make a “holistic” assessment of…
Equity gearing making a comeback
After a decade of decline, prospects for margin lending and other equity investment gearing products may be looking up. The latest data shows a pickup in lending and a well-known stockbroking firm…
Old is new again at the SMSF Association
The SMSF Association has appointed Andrew Hamilton as chair. He has been a member of the board for over nine years and was previously chair from 2012 to 2014. He takes over…
Restore tax in the super pension phase
The government’s retirement income review is being told our current tax and benefit treatment of retirement incomes is a mess. Much of financial planning industry is devoted to structuring affairs to maximise…
Better advice model needed
Australians don’t like the way financial advice is being currently offered to them and would prefer piece by piece advice when they need it. Michael Blomfield, chief executive of Investment Trends revealed…
TPB’s CPE plan questioned
The Tax Practitioners Board is considering an increase in the minimum number of continuing professional education (CPE) hours required for all tax practitioners to 40 hours a year. The TPB hopes to…
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FASEA approves more courses
The Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA) has approved coursework from two industry association and two university bridging courses, in the latest update of its list of approved courses. As part of its education standards for financial advisers, FASEA…
People: ABA appoints compliance head
The Australian Banking Association has announced the appointment of Ian Govey as chair of the Banking Code Compliance Committee (BCCC). BCCC is the independent body that monitors and enforces the new Banking Code of Practice. Govey is a former Australian…
Choosing a brand for the future
As a business evolves, one of the issues it must deal with is whether its branding adequately reflects product and service expansion over time. This is a question we have had to address at SuperAA (Superannuation Advisors Australia), a business…
ASIC gets a bigger sandbox
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission will have greater flexibility in its administration of the fintech sandbox regulatory licensing exemption, following the passage of legislation last week. The regulatory sandbox is designed to allow companies to test new and innovative…
360 Capital on a roll
360 Capital Group has entered into a binding agreement to acquire Ralton Asset Management, a managed accounts specialist. It is one of several deals the increasingly active investment company has done in recent months. Ralton will continue to operate its…
Show some emotion, Vanguard tells planners
When Vanguard asked investors what attributes contributed most to the value they put on their relationship with their financial adviser, the most important were: • plan monitoring; • Trust; • Connected; • investment expertise; • time delegation; • Prepared; •…
Planners on notice
Almost a third of consumers and half of small business owners are considering either changing their current financial planner or ceasing to use one altogether, according to new research. Respondents to the MetLife Adviser-Client Relationship Report 2019 cited high fees,…
