In Practice

The Institute of Managed Account Professionals (IMAP) has announced funds under management (FUM) in the Managed Accounts space has hit $111 billion on 30 June 2021. That’s a rise of $15.6 billion over the last six months, or 16.4 per cent.   IMAP, in conjunction with actuarial firm Milliman, has released six-monthly data on managed accounts,…

The growth and sophistication of the wealth management market is attracting new interest from formerly institutional providers. Now bfinance, a global manager search and research consultant, has entered the wealth space, including in Australia. bfinance, a London-based privately owned business established in 1999, has completed its first survey of wealth management companies, the results of…

Pinnacle Investment Management (Pinnacle) a multi-affiliate investment management firm with over $89 billion in assets under management has acquired Winston Capital Partners for an undisclosed sum. Winston Capital Partners was founded by Stephen Robertson and Andrew Fairweather who had been working alongside Pinnacle for several years in the distribution of the Coolabah Capital suite of…

In the wake of a disastrous pandemic that brought the global economy to its knees, the need for financial advice has never been greater. Digital disruption has helped keep the industry alive by allowing people to make contact with their financial advisers during this period of hardship. Not only did the sector do well but…

Managed accounts have been around for close to two decades, but they’ve only just started to take off. That charge is being led by financial planners and IFA’s who are shifting away from direct shares. In-fact managed accounts now make up $86 billion in funds under advice, according to Rainmaker Information’s latest Wholesale Advantage Report….

The global outlook has turned murky once again. From going into recovery mode out of lockdown, economies around the world are on alert given the high transmission rates of the Delta variant. The Delta variant, which accounts for more than 90 per cent of COVID-19 cases in the United States, has picked up new mutations…

Russell Investments has released the findings from its fourth annual Value of an Adviser Report, which validates the true value that financial advisers provide to clients, especially through the pandemic. With the onset of Covid-19 and the forced lockdowns that followed, 2020 was a tumultuous year for many of us. The spread of the virus…

Netwealth (ASX: NWL) – The leading platform provider delivered a FY21 net profit of $54.1 million, which was up 24 per cent, but below the analysts’ consensus forecast, of $55 million. Shares in the stock dropped by 4.8 per cent, to $14.24, but were down as much as 10 per cent during the day, as…

Listening into a webinar this week, there was an extensive discussion about the fact that very few, if any, financial advisers in the industry are pricing their clients appropriately. The theme of the discussion may well be right; however, the fact that it was delivered by a number of ‘experts’ who were unlikely to have…

Building a successful financial advice business is a hard slog these days, especially considering the regulatory requirements, rising costs, increased administration, educational standards, and the licensing and compliance obligations. That’s even before servicing the needs of your clients and the costs that come with it. Every advisory firm is grappling with the dilemma of unlocking…

High-net-worth (HNW) investors are the holy grail for any competent financial adviser. These are typically educated, experienced professionals and business owners who are seeking to establish long-term relationships and trust the adviser as an expert. Naturally, attracting these clients to your firm consistently is highly competitive and extremely difficult. As is typically the case, despite…

“If something is free, you are the product” This quote attributed to sculptor Richard Serra in 1973 was well ahead of its time, but offers a unique insight into the evolution of financial markets in the 2020’s. Just last week we witnessed the initial public offering of Robinhood Markets, a platform made popular for ‘zero…