A number of significant issues have arisen in the past few years in terms of adviser liability. Halsey Legal Services' Mark Halsey examines five of those key issues.... read more »
With markets recovering, financial advisers are looking for better ways to invest clients' money, including the use of listed investment companies. Vishal Teckchandani reports.... read more »
Financial planning practices are looking at new ways to market themselves following the dramatic changes wrought by the global financial crisis. Fiona Harris examines how planning businesses are approaching marketing in 2010 and beyond.... read more »
While succession planning was shelved while businesses dealt with the impact of the global financial crisis, it is now back on the agenda. An effective succession plan can maximise the value of a business and at the same time ensure its survival. Julie May reports.... read more »
The accounting profession is slightly puzzled by several of the measures outlined in the Cooper review, with some potential reform duplicating regimes already in place. Victoria Papandrea reports.... read more »
Contrary to popular belief, hedge funds could help reduce the risk in investment portfolios, but advisers are still constrained by access to good research to make proper use of these funds, Wouter Klijn reports.... read more »
As Australia awaits the call to the polling booths, concerns have been raised about what a change in government could mean for the country's financial services industry. Kate Kachor spoke with a number of the industry's leading participants to gauge their view on what an election could mean for proposed reforms.... read more »
Despite lacklustre performance, as Victoria Papandrea discovers, convincing investors of the attractiveness of property is one of the main challenges fund managers face at present.... read more »
Managed funds are set to boom in the next few years, according to industry experts. Vishal Teckchandani examines the reasons behind the shift towards this area of investment management.... read more »
Wealthy investors who survived the global financial crisis have emerged with renewed confidence, greater caution and higher expectations of the advice they receive. Julie May reports on high net worth investing in the current market environment.... read more »
The global financial crisis placed boutique fund managers under increased scrutiny. Those who came through the turmoil intact have been able to attract healthy fund inflows. Wouter Klijn reports.... read more »
The deadline for transitioning to a fee-for-service remuneration structure is 1 July 2012, meaning action is required now. Darin Tyson-Chan reports on what preparations are being made for the change and whether everything will be ready in time.... read more »
The PIGS (Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain) are in trouble and markets are worried that their governments are at the point of no return in terms of paying off their borrowings. Will the PIGS' debt woes be serious enough to dent the current economic rebound and cause another global recession? Vishal Teckchandani reports.... read more »
As the prospect of a level playing field in terms of the provision of advice moves closer to becoming a reality, the retail financial planning and industry superannuation fund sectors are focusing on closing the advice gap. Kate Kachor reports.... read more »
Financial advisers need to change their approach to generation Y if they are going to tap into the next generation of client. Julie May reports.... read more »
As M&A activity continues to pick up, financial services aggregators and large institutional dealer groups are sizing up the market to take advantage of potential growth opportunities. Victoria Papandrea reports.... read more »
The exchange-traded fund market is booming as advisers look for new avenues to channel client funds into equities. Darin Tyson-Chan and Vishal Teckchandani report.... read more »
IFA gathered a number of industry professionals for a life insurance roundtable to discuss where the sector is at following the GFC and where it is heading. With legislative changes pending, simplicity for advisers and flexibility for consumers remain top priorities to ensure consumer interest in insurance is retained. Darin Tyson-Chan and Julie May report.... read more »
After a decade of less-than-sparkling international equities returns, fund managers say there are indications the next 10 years will be positive for global stocks. Wouter Klijn reports.... read more »
It is nearly a year since the agribusiness sector was brought to its knees by the failure of Great Southern and Timbercorp. The mess created by the collapse of these two agribusiness giants is now being played out in the courts. Kate Kachor reports.... read more »
A lot of work is still needed to nail down education and professional standards for the financial advice sector, but industry bodies and licensees are striving hard to achieve this goal. Victoria Papandrea reports.... read more »
With another financial year drawing to a close, IFA asked a number of experts in the industry to give us their preferred strategies to help achieve better tax management as well as their top five tax tips.
Capital protection has become a hot topic after many Australians had their savings savaged by the GFC. Capital-protected product providers tell IFA's capital protection roundtable that flexibility is the key to making these investment vehicles work. Victoria Papandrea and Wouter Klijn report.... read more »
Financial services companies are once again hiring and candidates are returning to the job market in droves following the global financial crisis. Julie May reports.... read more »
Margin lending has taken a battering from the global financial crisis and the collapse of Storm Financial. Kate Kachor and Vishal Teckchandani take a look at how the main players are faring and what new lending regulations mean for the industry. ... read more »
To what extent are financial planners to blame for investor losses as a result of recent corporate collapses and what are advisers' rights in these situations? Kate Kachor and Vishal Teckchandani report.... read more »
The SMSF sector has continued to perform strongly against its industry competitors and amid the turmoil from the global financial crisis. Now, a new statistical summary of the sector has provided a more in-depth picture of how the sector is travelling. Wouter Klijn, Julie May and Darin Tyson-Chan look at how the sector is doing and what's in store for 2010.... read more »
After a phenomenal bounce back in Australian equities last year, investors are wondering what to expect from the market in 2010. IFA's Vishal Teckchandani and Kate Kachor spoke to a number of the industry's leading fund managers about their forecast for the year ahead.... read more »
The hardened insurance market cycle has hit financial planners renewing their professional indemnity cover, but underwriters have also come under considerable pressure in recent years. Victoria Papandrea reports.... read more »
The GFC put cost savings at the top of many financial planning practices' agendas, however, this failed to translate into the uptake of low-cost advice software. Even so, market dominators IRESS and Coin are facing competition from niche players and cannot afford to take their eye of the ball. Wouter Klijn reports.... read more »
While confusion may reign for many regarding the right price for advice, work has begun to help Australia's advice sector start on a path to find answers, reports Kate Kachor.... read more »
Next year is tinged with some uncertainty about the level of recovery in the share market and the outcome of various parliamentary inquiries. Darin Tyson-Chan and Julie May take a look at what may be in store for 2010.... read more »
The turmoil of the past year wreaked havoc on Australia's financial services sector, with the collapse of investment firms, parliamentary inquiries and a concerted push to abandon commission-based fees. Kate Kachor and Wouter Klijn examine the events of 2009 and their impact on the investment environment.... read more »
The Ripoll inquiry has released its much-anticipated report into financial services and products in Australia. Vishal Teckchandani examines the parliamentary committee's recommendations, the industry's reaction and the report's findings on the collapse of Storm Financial.... read more »
For consumers, finding a financial adviser in the vast and variable pool of authorised representatives may be akin to looking for a needle in haystack. Victoria Papandrea reports.... read more »
A decade on from its first issue, IFA marks the occasion by revisiting the top 10 issues, as nominated by the industry, impacting on the sector in that time. Three past editors of the magazine also look back on their time at the helm of the publication.
The global financial crisis (GFC) might not have thrown conventional investment wisdom out of the window, but it certainly has shaken its foundations and made many investors take a more cautious approach towards risk. The multi-manager approach has often been seen as one method of mitigating this factor.... read more »
Evidence is emerging that poor management, not bad advice, was behind the downfall of Great Southern and Timbercorp. Kate Kachor examines whether financial planners are among the victims of these agribusiness collapses.... read more »
The global financial crisis prompted many financial planners to consider offering life insurance and related risk products as part of a more holistic advice solution for clients. Victoria Papandrea reports.... read more »
As a result of the global financial crisis, approved product lists could become more conservative in their recommendations. However, they are still likely to remain a relevant part of the overall advice process. Julie May reports.... read more »
A year ago, the collapse of financial services giant Lehman Brothers propelled the world's economies and markets into a full-blown crisis. Wouter Klijn examines the damage to Australia's financial services industry and looks at what the future may hold. ... read more »
The wisdom of investing in international equities has come under scrutiny in the wake of the global financial crisis. Vishal Teckchandani examines the pros and cons of investing in global shares.... read more »
The market downturn may have cut the number of referrals financial planning practices are receiving from existing clients, but there are a number of other sources an adviser can tap to generate new client leads, irrespective of the market climate. Victoria Papandrea reports.... read more »
The global financial crisis has put the need for practice principals to have a concrete succession plan well and truly in the spotlight. Julie May examines the importance of having a succession plan and the benefits it can bring to a practice.... read more »
The SMSF sector is building as a new and lucrative area for advisers to service. Darin Tyson-Chan looks at what financial advisers interested in the area need to look out for and what sort of advice needs to be provided.... read more »
The platform sector has largely withstood the negative impact of the global financial crisis, with the major operators reporting steady inflows during the downturn. Kate Kachor examines where to next for the platform market. ... read more »
A number of emerging market economies have weathered the global financial crisis and are tipped to come out of the turmoil with a vengeance. Investment experts are urging financial advisers to consider including this asset class in their investors' portfolios. Vishal Teckchandani reports.... read more »
While family offices have been popular in the United States and Europe for some time, this niche offering is now gaining a foothold in the Australian financial advice market. Victoria Papandrea reports.... read more »
Being an instrumental link between the government and the financial services industry during the introduction and transition of financial services reform (FSR) is a career highlight for Pauline Vamos.... read more »
It is not often the industry can be thankful for a stock market crash, but in some ways that is how the 1987 downturn should be viewed because without it MLC chief executive Steve Tucker may have been lost to the world of stockbroking.... read more »
When Bernie Ripoll was first appointed chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services, he did not expect he would launch what has arguably been Australia's most extensive inquiry into financial products and services.... read more »
You could say Platinum Asset Management managing director Kerr Neilson is a natural to the funds management industry, considering he began buying stocks at the start of his teenage years.... read more »
In light of Australia's current political climate - or lack thereof - it seems only logical for the industry to move towards self-regulation.... read more »
