Article list

Most clients cannot meet their financial objectives without the design and implementation of an investment strategy. Judging by complaint categories, this can be a contentious area and one in which ethical behaviour and absolute professionalism is paramount. This article, proudly sponsored by GSFM, examines the varied investment ‘suppliers’ and examines ethical practices through an investment […]

Most financial advice practices have referral partners they send business to, or receive business from. You may also use any number of third party outsource providers for non-client facing elements of your service offering. This article examines your obligations with respect to those relationships and FASEA’s Code of Ethics. Ethics and trust go hand in […]

At the beginning of 2020, few would have imagined having to implement business continuity plans and establish remote offices before the first quarter was out. In this article, sponsored by GSFM, we examine the processes you need to implement to ensure your remote practice abides by FASEA’s ethical framework and specifically, its Code of Ethics. […]

The 2018 Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry (Royal Commission) highlighted numerous situations in which an absence of ethical behaviour was apparent. However, what happens when a financial adviser is instructed to perform an action by their client and cannot act on that instruction without breaching an ethical standard? […]

On 1 January 2020, FASEA’s code of ethics became enforceable by law, requiring advisers to comply with its 12 detailed standards. Each standard is explored in detail in FASEA’s guidance. This article, sponsored by GSFM, examines the implications of this in practice and explores ways to ensure your practice and all who work within it […]

It’s hard to imagine, but statistics show up to 10 per cent of older Australians experience elder abuse. This may be financial, legal, emotional, physical or plain neglect. Sadly, much of this abuse hidden in families, where the majority of perpetrators lurk, and victims don’t know how to stop it. Financial abuse of elders is […]

In the first article of this ethics series, we examined the broad application of ethics in financial practice. In this second article, the focus is on life insurances and the ethical considerations that are essential when making recommendations to clients. Round five of last year’s Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial […]

The recent Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry (Royal Commission) highlighted numerous situations in which best practice – and arguably, an ethical approach to financial advice – was absent. This article, the first of a series of five brought to you by GSFM, will examine the adviser’s duty of […]