Making up the adviser shortfall is going to be a challenge, with the big professional services firms just as desperate for top-level talent as advice groups. To get young people interested, Striver founder Alisdair Barr says, we need to make the industry interesting.
From organisational improvements to client “nudges”, the potential for AI to transform advice businesses is limitless according to Netwealth’s Andrew Braun.
The gender gap may be closing in SMSF balances (and at a much faster rate than APRA funds), but it’s still a glacial pace. Class modelling shows that an early boost, combined with the magic of compounding, can redress the imbalance.
True diversification is the only way for investors to protect themselves against global risk, says Jamie Green. “This includes diversification across asset classes, geographies, industries and even company sizes.”
In a year when Australian equities far outperformed international stocks, APRA-regulated funds felt the brunt more than SMSF trustees, who still favour the double dipped income of franked local dividends.
Rising interest rates and elevated stock multiples have brought down the equity risk premium and created a highly advantageous environment for value investors, according to Pzena Investment Management.
With over 2 million Australians invested in ETFs and every second SMSF holding them, it’s little wonder managers are keen to launch active ETF versions of their most successful funds.
Toohey notes that on top of softening inflation, small caps will also be buoyed by enhanced consumer sentiment and a better lending environment. “The sector now looks extremely attractive,” he says.
Our advisers may be a few years behind the UK industry in terms of development, but when they catch up there will be ample reward according to CoreData’s Andrew Inwood.
The financial needs of a staggering 64 per cent of retirees sit beyond the comprehension of super funds, a new report states, because there is too much complexity involved when retirement income isn’t enough to satisfy lifestyle ambitions.
