With Australian banks beginning the cycle of raising interest rates, the writing is on the wall for Australian borrowers. For most Australians, the family home is the greatest asset, with ownership a key pillar to a comfortable retirement. But record house prices and elevated debt mean that most Australians will be working for longer to […]
continue readingAlthough he welcomes the financial service sector’s education and professional standards introduced into Parliament last year, industry consultant and former planner John Wiseman says the new changes have overlooked a gaping need for similar compulsory academic and professional requirements for SMSF trustees. Commenting further, John Wiseman said with nearly 30% of Australia’s $2.1trillion of superannuation […]
continue reading 19 Jan 2017
A Final Word on Trowbridge LIF is upon us, and a retrospective gnashing and wailing is not particularly helpful. But it should serve as a warning for the future – as Santyana observed: “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it”. The publication of the Trowbridge Report in Australia contained proposals […]
continue reading 17 Jan 2017
Since FSRA hit the market in 2004, NZ observers have been watching the progress and developments of the post-regulatory experience in the financial services industry in Australia. With the introduction of the Financial Advisers Act 2008, New Zealand took the first steps toward the regulation of the behaviour and practices of investment and life insurance […]
continue reading 22 Nov 2016
Much like the BREXIT vote, which seemed doomed at the end by the assassination of a key “Remain” politician that was deemed to make many “Leave” voters think their movement was hopelessly stained, Americans surprised the consensus with an anti-establishment vote, in particular by disagreeing with Clinton’s policies and with the FBI’s leadership’s view that […]
continue reading 11 Nov 2016
Recently I made a change to a much smaller company after working with large national and multinational organisations for over 25 years. For as long as I can remember in those companies my days were almost entirely filled with meetings. Some were what I’d call productive and others were those corporate meetings and conference calls […]
continue reading 02 Nov 2016
There are two career events that can trigger acute anxiety: redundancy and retirement. While redundancy can bring with it some major challenges that shouldn’t be underestimated, these are invariably short term in nature occurring while we are looking for the next career opportunity. Retirement however marks a permanent shift in our lives and unless we […]
continue reading 10 Oct 2016
As global tech heavyweights Google and Apple, along with emerging automotive brand Tesla and even global taxi industry disrupter Uber vie for dominance in the fast developing ‘driverless car’ space, the relevant legislators have struggled to keep pace with those persistent software developers. Perhaps spurred on by the first death of a motorist who placed […]
continue reading 27 Sep 2016
Another institutional licensee is exiting the advice industry, with the BankWest salaried advice division due to close its doors in a few months. This comes off Suncorp exiting its advice business in 2015. Rod Bristow, Managing Director and CEO of the Infocus Group, said “This is an emerging trend within institutional licensees. It seems to […]
continue reading 27 Sep 2016
The old saying “It’s not what you know – but who you know” is still relevant today. While career success isn’t solely determined by your network, there’s no doubt that a strong and sustainable network is a key influencing factor. Financial advisors who want to grow their career and practice need to look to build […]
continue reading 14 Sep 2016
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