ASIC’s statement on wholesale and retail investors and SMSFs

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ASIC has clarified how it will apply the wholesale investor test to self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs). This has been an area of ongoing legal uncertainty. The recent Senate Economics References... Read more continue reading

Centrepoint announces conclusion of Professional Investment Services’ OMP after lifting the bar on advice

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Services’ OMP after lifting the bar on advice Professional Investment Services has completed their Ongoing Monitoring Program (OMP) following ASIC’s recognition of the team’s significant improvement in the quality of... Read more continue reading

Senate report doesn’t go far enough to protect consumers

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Australian investors have inferior protection from poor investment advice compared to their peers around the world. That situation won’t change any time soon, despite the findings of a Senate report... Read more continue reading

Regulation of Australia’s financial system ‘needs overhauling’

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The Financial System Inquiry (FSI) should seize the moment and recommend an overhaul of the regulation of Australia’s financial system, says Alex Erskine, managing director and founder of Erskinomics Consulting.... Read more continue reading

July 1 is FoFA D-Day for Advisers: are you sorted?

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The Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) deadlines are upon us and financial advisers should by now have taken several steps to ensure they meet their new obligations, according to the... Read more continue reading

Consumer continues to be unintended short term casualty in battle for advice

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Connect Financial Service Brokers (Connect) CEO Paul Tynan has reflected on the 2014 fiscal year and the financial services sector and described the past 12 months as one of continuing... Read more continue reading

FoFA reform pause a surprise for many – Government and industry must get it right

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Connect Financial Service Brokers (Connect) CEO Paul Tynan added this voice to the many that responded to the news that the Federal Government had decided to ‘pause’ the FoFA amendment... Read more continue reading

A road map to greater national savings and increased budget revenue

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Changes need to be made to Australia’s financial system to help address the nation’s debt challenge, increase national savings and encourage personal responsibility, the Friendly Societies of Australia (FSA) said.... Read more continue reading

Adviser hardship and impact lost in FoFA grandfathering stalemate debate

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As the grandfathering issue steadily tracks towards a resolution that will satisfy most parties, Financial Service Brokers (Connect) CEO Paul Tynan says that although grateful his call for a balanced... Read more continue reading

Don’t squander your FoFA peace dividend

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Financial planning businesses invested heavily in preparing for the new fee disclosure statement (FDS) regime and can now either embrace the opportunity to secure a return on their investments, or... Read more continue reading