Kate McCallum

The Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) and TAL have announced Kate McCallum of Multiforte Financial Services as the winner of the 2014 AFA Female Excellence in Advice Award (the Award).

AFA CEO, Brad Fox, said Ms McCallum is passionate about the advice profession and the value of quality financial advice and is an outstanding role model for fellow female advisers.

“Kate was an exemplary candidate for the Award, and we are proud to have her as the winner for 2014,” he said. “The Award seeks to focus attention on financial advice as an excellent career pathway for women as well as to close the advice gap that exists between the willingness of Australian women to seek financial advice compared to that of men. Developing financial literacy with female clients and the confidence to make informed decisions that comes from that knowledge, is an important criteria for the Award.”

Mr Fox said the finalists, semi-finalists and nominees for the Award are all to be congratulated for their continued commitment to bringing great advice to more Australians. “These women will continue to help raise the profile of financial advisers and the great difference they make to the lives of their clients and their communities. The AFA, together with TAL, is delighted to be able to recognise them for this.”

Brett Clark, TAL Deputy Group CEO, said Ms McCallum was an outstanding candidate and deserving Award winner.

“We are proud to encourage and inspire women in the industry to be the best they can be,” he said. “All of the Award candidates are making meaningful contributions to their profession and their passion and dedication is profoundly impacting their communities and their clients. Kate typifies the best qualities of the advice community and her support and leadership for both her clients and her peers demonstrate how much she puts back into the profession.”

Commenting on her involvement in the Award process, Ms McCallum said, “The Award for me celebrates remarkable advice – the type of advice that is absolutely about the client and ultimately changes their life. It also offers the chance to tell the story of the ‘good guys and gals’ in advice.

“I’ve found the experience energising and also challenging. Challenging because you have to put yourself out there. It’s led me to reflect on what I have achieved and the areas where I am still striving. I’m very aware that excellence is a journey.”
The other finalists were:

• Adrienne Rush, Bendigo Financial Planning
• Dominique Bergel-Grant, Leapfrog Financial
• Sarah Riegelhuth, Wealth Enhancers

Ms McCallum will receive a full scholarship from Macquarie Graduate School of Management (MGSM) (valued at $12,000) to complete either a Postgraduate Certificate in Management or an Executive Education Leadership Development Program.

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Philip Kewin

As demand grows for the availability of risk products on platforms, HUB24 advocates that a choice of insurers is important for advisers and their clients given the significant price and feature differences of many products.

In response to this demand, HUB24 is pleased to bring a third retail insurance provider to its market leading super and IDPS platforms. Zurich’s Wealth Protection product complements the existing personal insurers TAL and AIA providing another choice for advisers and their clients.

“Modern platforms like HUB24 are maturing into broader structures that are committed to providing more choice for advisers. Advisers have always had a choice of insurer for their clients outside of platforms and now seek the same choice for their clients within platforms to take advantage of an end-to-end solution. Typically, platform insurance offers have been limited to the ‘house brand’ denying clients an efficient solution with real choice.  Advisers bring their own risk expertise to assist clients, to give them the best options that suit their personal needs.” said Andrew Alcock, Chief Executive Officer, HUB24.

“Zurich’s insurance offering has won major industry awards and we’re pleased to add another quality risk provider for access through HUB24 inside or outside superannuation.”

“Like our other insurers, Zurich is making a solid commitment to working in partnership with us and dealer groups to provide exceptional service to our advisers and their clients.” said Andrew.

Zurich’s General Manager, Retail Life & Investments, Philip Kewin, also acknowledged the importance of the partnership, which comes at a time when household budget pressure is increasing the appeal of platforms to consumers.

“From a client’s perspective, the cash flow advantages of holding cover on platform are becoming increasingly appealing,” said Mr Kewin.

“With an estimated 40% of individual risk premiums now written through platforms, we believe the timing of our new partnership with HUB24 is perfect.

“Zurich was recently announced as the joint winner of Canstar’s Outstanding Value award for life insurance, and we are pleased to be able to bring such a quality offering to users of the HUB24 platform.

Thanks to this partnership, advisers now have more ways to deliver quality risk advice to clients, affordably and efficiently,” he said.

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Jim Minto appointed Pay Equity Ambassador for the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA).

Group CEO of Australia’s largest life insurer Jim Minto yesterday issued a challenge to corporate Australia in his new honorary role of Pay Equity Ambassador for the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA).

“TAL committed nearly two years ago to close the gender pay gap and we have achieved that. The fact is it can be fixed; it just requires measurement, planning, commitment and a disciplined program of implementation. I challenge the Australian business community to do this now as a business priority,” he said.

WGEA figures released yesterday show that nearly 74% of employers have never done a gender gap analysis.

TAL’s ratio of female to male pay rose from 82% to 98.5% following direct action over two years to redress pay inequality. This involved assessing all roles and a program involving new pay, recruitment and remuneration training, policies and guidelines along with an ongoing awareness campaign as well as developing a strong culture of diversity and inclusion right throughout the organisation.

“So my challenge is that there is no basis for gender pay inequality and that pay equity is achievable and straight forward. Every employer can fix this now. It just needs the urgent attention it deserves to ensure we get rid of, once and for all, this blight on our modern society,” Mr Minto said.

“We spend a lot of time talking about numbers of women in senior roles whereas we ignore the key issue of pay equity which apart from being right and fair for all women is one of the key building blocks to us having more women in senior roles.”

Other key activities in TAL’s broader gender equality program include:

• Flexible work arrangements
• Maternity (and paternity) support
• Hiring both genders on equal pay for the same roles
• Management training on gender equity
• Gender equity targets in Executive KPIs and performance plans
• Monitoring, measuring and reporting the results.

Mr Minto said survey results revealed that flexibility was something that employees of both genders wanted for different reasons across their lifespan and was something that especially had great resonance for working mothers.

“We also found that by encouraging more men to take up flexible work we were helping to dismantle the gender-based stigmas that previously bogged down flexibility discussions,” he said.

In 2012, 25% of diversity and inclusion survey respondents had considered leaving TAL due to work/life conflict. This has now reduced to 13%. There has been a 58% increase in the number of employees working flexibly from 31 to 49% over two years. TAL’s employee engagement survey listed diversity as the number one reason for staff wanting to stay with TAL as an employer.

“We strongly believe our gender equity and diversity and inclusion efforts will be reflected in the quality of service we’re able to deliver our customers and in our long-term sustainability as Australia’s largest life insurer.”

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Brett Clark

The Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) and TAL have yesterday announced the finalists in the 2014 AFA Female Excellence in Advice Award (the Award).

The Award, which is offered annually, recognises female financial advisers who are making a significant contribution to their profession, their community and particularly to female clients.

AFA CEO, Brad Fox, said the Award is an important step in the continuous recognition of the achievements of women in financial advice.

“Showcasing the talents of female financial advisers is particularly important in the mission to increase the number of individuals, particularly women, who seek advice to gain appropriate superannuation savings, insurance and overall financial well-being,” he said.

“But it’s more than that. The Award is a catalyst to attract more women to become financial advisers and to bring their talents, including empathy and understanding, to the advice market place. We are incredibly proud of our finalists and all that they have achieved to this stage of their careers.”

TAL Life CEO Brett Clark said the job of shortlisting the final group proved to be difficult for the judges because of the very high standards of all of the semi-finalists.

“The finalists are all exceptional candidates and congratulations to each of them for making the final cut in what has been a highly competitive year for the Award. This year all of the semi-finalists attended a special two-day master class on leadership and development which they highly valued as part of the award program. All of the finalists are outstanding advisers and leaders in their own right who are delivering tremendous value for their clients and for the advice profession as a whole.”

The finalists for the 2014 Award are:

• Adrienne Rush, Bendigo Financial Planning
• Dominique Bergel-Grant, Leapfrog Financial
• Kate McCallum, Multiforte Financial Services
• Sarah Riegelhuth, Wealth Enhancers

The AFA Female Excellence in Advice Award is a joint initiative of the AFA and TAL with support from the Macquarie Graduate School of Management (MGSM). The winner of the 2014 Award will be announced at the AFA National Adviser Conference in Cairns on Tuesday 14 October 2014 and receive a full MGSM scholarship (valued at $12,000) to complete either a Postgraduate Certificate in Management or an Executive Education Leadership Development Program.

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An example of the images produced by the Imaginarium illustrators.

Professional artists illustrated the lives of over 100 people as part of a MoneySmart Week event run by TAL last week.

TAL Chief Customer and Operations Officer Penny Coates said: “The illustrations from the TAL Imaginarium were designed to help people really appreciate what is important in their lives, including the futures they imagine.”

“Participants were amazed to see their illustrations highlight so many things they value in their lives now, as well as their hopes and dreams for the future. Participants came away with a better understanding of the need to protect what’s precious to them.”

The TAL Imaginarium operated at four sites last week, as part of MoneySmart Week, to help improve financial literacy across Australia.

Over a few minutes, participants were asked about what they valued in their lives and imagined for their futures. As they did so, a hidden artist illustrated their responses, which were revealed at the end of the conversation.

Jane, 32, from Chatswood in Sydney, said the TAL Imaginarium helped clarify the dreams she has for the future, and made her realise she is determined to chase those dreams.

“It is too easy to forget the important things in life. To see the people and experiences I cherish and my imagined future come to life in an illustration was a wonderful experience and a complete revelation” she said.

TAL supports MoneySmart Week to improve financial literacy and help Australians build, grow and protect the lives they have created and the ones they imagine for the future.

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Jim Minto

Australia’s largest life insurer TAL last Friday, on Equal Pay Day, urged all businesses to take action to address the pay inequity for women.

In July TAL announced it had narrowed the ratio of female to male pay from 82% to almost 98%. That ratio has edged higher to 98.5% in TAL’s latest gender pay measure.

TAL Group CEO Jim Minto said: “Pay equity can be fixed now and employers should make it a priority so our society can correct once and for all this historical inequity.

“At TAL we have been actively addressing pay equity for almost two years and our ongoing results demonstrate positive change can be made. Our latest measure shows we have almost reached full parity with the continued focus on gender balanced recruitment and salary alignment when employees join TAL.”

Mr Minto said achieving pay equality for women in all workforces will help pave the way to resolve the gender imbalance at both management and board levels.

“We want to ensure as a society that all roles in business are shared equally between men and women and that all employees irrespective of their gender feel able to access the same opportunities,” he said.

The Australian Government’s Workplace Gender Equality Agency released in March 2014 figures showing the current national gender pay gap for women is currently 17.1%, a level it has hovered around for many years.

The Equal Pay Day Alliance says that this discrepancy shows just how much more work is required in Australia to “reduce the damaging and substantial income gap between women and men”.

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Jim Minto

A survey has bucked the perception that young Australians are staying at home substantially longer than their parents did.

The findings reveal offspring fly the coup and become financially independent at an average age of 23.

Surprisingly, this compares to their parents who left home only two years earlier at an average age of 21, according to the survey conducted by Australia’s largest life insurer TAL as part of its support for MoneySmart Week this week.

The survey also reveals this meets parents’ expectations: they say their children should leave home and become financially independent at about that age (age 22.7 years).

TAL Group CEO Jim Minto said: “Leaving the protection and comfort of the family home can be both exciting and daunting. It is a rite of passage. Ensuring you are financial protected makes the transition much easier.

“A crucial part of being financial independent is ensuring you can meet your obligations and commitments if for some reason you are unable to earn your income for a period. Income protection is a key form of life insurance for young people and moving out of home is a perfect time to ensure you have financial protection.”

While highlighting that the 30-something “failure to launch” cliché is an exception rather than the rule for those flying the coup, the survey also reveals far fewer children are leaving home before the age of 18.

Only three per cent of parents expect their children to leave home before 18, compared with 13% of parents saying they had moved out by this age.

Fourteen per cent of parents shied away from putting an age on the question – instead saying it should be dependent on getting a job or completing their education.

A number of parents did, however, seem resigned to having their children at home for the long term, with 8% saying their children “would probably never leave home”. In some cases there may be children with special needs or medical conditions.

Mr Minto said: “Looking at life it is clear that a person’s most important asset is their ability to earn an income because that is what sustains our lives.

“But what many young people do not fully appreciate is the impacts and consequences of what can happen when an income unexpectedly stops due to injury or illness. Youngsters will often insure their mobile phones but not themselves.”

TAL supports MoneySmart Week to improve financial literacy and because it wants to help Australians build, grow and protect the life they have created and the one they imagine for the future.

TAL is hosting a MoneySmart Week event outside Customs House at Circular Quay, Sydney give people the chance to bring their futures to life through personalised illustrations completed in real time by professional artists.

Age for leaving home and becoming financially independent

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Planners are focusing more on life insurance and expect this to continue over the short term

Recep Peker

The proportion of planners advising on risk has remained steady at 90% over the last 12 months, and those who do are sourcing a greater proportion of their practice revenue from providing risk advice (29%, up from 27% in 2013). Looking forward, planners expect this trend to continue with risk advice accounting for 31% of their practice revenue by 2017.

“Risk continues to be a key component of many planners’ businesses,” said Investment Trends Senior Analyst Recep Peker.  “Providers can help facilitate planners’ intention to grow their risk business by addressing some of planners’ key challenges, chiefly high premiums, administration issues and inefficient processes.”

Planners are expanding the range of insurers they use, but switching remains high

After four years of planners consolidating the number of insurers they use, planners have started to expand the number of insurers they use. The typical planner now uses 3.7 insurers each, up from 3.4 in 2013.

However, levels of insurer switching remains high with 40% of planners saying they stopped using at least one insurer in the last 12 months, up from 35% last year.

“Insurer relationships are in a state of flux,” said Peker. “Planners are aggressively expanding the number of insurers they use, while cutting those who aren’t exceptional. There are great opportunities and risks for insurers to either benefit or lose out from this switching.”

Despite insurer relationships changing rapidly over the last 12 months, it is still crucial to be a planner’s most-used insurance provider. Planners currently write 59% of premiums through their most-used insurance provider.

BT Life, OnePath and AIA Australia posted strong gains in terms of primary market share. The top five insurance providers by number of primary planner relationships are now:

1. OnePath
2. AMP
3. AIA Australia
4. BT Life
5. TAL

“Whilst planners are using a wider range of insurers, the market is also becoming more concentrated,” said Peker. “The top five insurance providers now account for 66% of primary planner relationships, up from 62% last year.”

Zurich and AIA Australia has the highest satisfaction amongst its users

“Satisfaction is crucial in the insurance space, as business is not very sticky and planners can easily stop writing new business with an insurance provider,” said Peker. “That’s why there is a very strong relationship between satisfaction and switching behaviour.”

Planners’ overall satisfaction with their most-used insurance provider remained steady at a high level. The top three insurance providers by overall planner satisfaction in 2014 are:

1. Zurich
2. AIA Australia
3. Asteron Life

Underwriting is a key area in which insurers can differentiate their offerings

Following the tightening of underwriting standards over the last year, we’re seeing the average number of days planners say it takes providers to process underwriting submissions increase from last year’s levels. This has resulted in planners’ satisfaction with underwriting falling slightly at an industry level over the last 12 months.

“The underwriting process is the strongest driver of overall satisfaction with insurers,” said Peker. “So, any falls in satisfaction with the underwriting process is noteworthy.”

“Underwriting is very important for both acquisition and retention, and will be a key battleground for insurance providers over the next year,” said Peker.

45% of planners said insurance providers should focus on improving underwriting speeds to help them with their advice on risk.

Users of XPLAN’s risk modules have the highest levels of overall satisfaction

89% of planners who advise on risk use risk software. XPLAN continues to dominate the risk software space with over half (53%) of planners using XPLAN’s risk modules as their most-used risk software. This is followed by Rubik/COIN (18%) and Midwinter (8%).

At an industry level, planners’ satisfaction with their most-used risk software remained steady at the eleven-year average.

Among risk software providers, XPLAN achieved the highest average overall satisfaction rating from its users and ranked highest across all nine of the other service elements measured.

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Brett Clark

The Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) and TAL have announced the semi-finalists in the 2014 AFA Female Excellence in Advice Award (the Award).

The Award, developed in 2011 as a joint initiative by the AFA and TAL and supported by the Macquarie Graduate School of Management (MGSM), recognises and showcases the talents and contributions of women in financial advice to their clients, community and their profession.

AFA CEO, Brad Fox, said the Award is a reflection of the AFA’s quest to continue to create and encourage positive change in financial advice, with more women being encouraged to enter the advice profession thus giving Australians more choice in who they seek advice from.

“The achievements of the women nominated, and the semi-finalists especially, really show that our profession can earn the recognition and respect of the public,” he said. “By taking part in the Award process, these women are showing how they are changing their clients’ lives. The more we can continue to showcase the value of their advice, the sooner more Australians will understand what financial advice is, what the process involves and how valuable it is to their own position. This is particularly relevant to Australian women where the levels of superannuation, insurance and financial stability are well below those of men.”

TAL Life CEO, Brett Clark said the calibre of applicants was exceptionally high, and the job of shortlisting the semi-finalists was a challenging one for the judges.

“TAL is proud to have jointly initiated this award with the AFA because it provides an opportunity for female advisers to not only be recognised but to showcase their skills and talent in the advice profession and with their own communities. At TAL we understand the benefits that diversity brings to all businesses and professions. The quality of the nominations this year again is really impressive and a great indication of the calibre of women seeking to make a difference in financial services.”

The semi-finalists will be invited to participate in a custom-designed, two-day Leadership Master Class facilitated by MGSM as part of the 2014 Award Program. Then on 15 September, six finalists for the Award will be declared, followed by the announcement of the overall 2014 winner at the AFA National Adviser Conference in Cairns from 12-14 October. The winner will receive a full MGSM scholarship (valued at $12,000) to complete either a Postgraduate Certificate in Management or an Executive Education Leadership Development Program.

The Award semi-finalists are:

• Adrienne Rush, Bendigo Financial Planning
• Dominique Bergel-Grant, Leapfrog Financial
• Kate McCallum, Multiforte Financial Services
• Julia Schortinghuis, Lighthouse Capital
• Katherine Hann, Alan Donald Financial Services
• Nadia Cassidy, Mercer Financial Advice
• Naomi Rosenthal, Tudor Investassure Pty Ltd
• Sarah Riegelhuth, Wealth Enhancers
• Shu-Yi Schulstad, InsureWealth Financial Services

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• Most parents link pocket money to good behaviour or help given
• More than a quarter of children don’t receive pocket money
• 7 to 10 year olds earn $8.50 in pocket money each week and 11-14 year olds earn $14.30
• Early conversations with children critical to teach money smarts

Research reveals Australia’s attitude to kids’ pocket money.

A survey by Money Smart Week sponsor Australia’s largest life insurer TAL reveals that, far from living in a “culture of entitlement”, more than half of Australian children do jobs around the house for their pocket money.

In addition, more than a quarter (29%) do not receive any pocket money, while less than one in ten children receive pocket money regardless of whether they help around the house.

TAL spokesperson Jim Minto said: “No matter what the arrangement is, the important point is that families have conversations about the value and importance of money to help achieve financial wellbeing.”

The survey, undertaken by TAL ahead of Money Smart Week which runs from 1-7 September, looks at two groups of children – ages 7 to 10, and 11 to 14.

It reveals 52 per cent of 7 to 10 year olds and 55 per cent of 11 to 14 year olds need to help around the house to earn pocket money. However, many parents (23%) also pay pocket money as a reward for good behaviour.

“While it depends on individual families about the time or amount to pay in pocket money, the majority surveyed link pocket money to either work done or good behaviour. We support MoneySmart Week to help Australians of all ages make the best decisions about money. This includes building, growing and protecting their wealth.

MoneySmart Week Campaign Director Rebecca Glenn said the issue of pocket money was often a difficult one for parents and children, but an important one.

“The financial habits we form in childhood and our attitude to money can have a profound impact on our financial wellbeing. Many of us can remember the discussions we had with our parents about pocket money, the agreement to do something in exchange for that money and then deciding how we were going to spend it. For parents, there are free tools to help them with these conversations.

“The Start Early Challenge, developed by MoneySmart Week, helps parents and children with conversations about how to set and achieve savings goals.

“These discussions may not always come naturally and we encourage parents to have them and to help their children take the challenge.

Parents can find more information at www.moneysmartweek.org.au.”

And those parents wanting to check if they have sufficient protection can take the Australian Financial Protection Quiz.

Table 1: Does your child receive pocket money

Table 2: For those who receive pocket money, average amount received each week 

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