Technology

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…

An Australian start-up, founded by Bryan Rollins, former general manager at Atlassian, WorkForClimate is focused on empowering individual professionals to create change within the corporate sector. Its mission is to speed-up the corporate transition away from fossil fuels by guiding businesses and employees to commit to climate goals across four categories: Energy – Help your…

According to wealth management platform Netwealth (ASX: NWL), “Two in five advice firms will look to integrate their systems and databases in the next 24 months.” Assuming it’s correct, the wealth platform space will either undergo major consolidation or external system integration of some sort, that connects different sub-systems to one larger system that functions…

It’s been a slow week for wealth appointments, though one can imagine that Sydney’s lockdown – and the uncertainty around when it will end (this journalist’s prediction: by Christmas) – could have something to do with what is usually a steady stream of announcements drying to a trickle. That’s not to say there’s nothing to…

The Federal Government has quietly passed several previously flagged changes to the financial advice industry. The majority appear to be a positive step in the face of what is a jungle of red tape currently faced by the shrinking cohort of financial advisers. There were four key changes, with all eyes on the potential for…

While the buzz surrounding its introduction just over ten years ago has abated, an increasing body of research is building on the value of robo-advice. A new paper shows the benefits can be wide-reaching. More than a marketing tool for index managers or various asset allocators and other agents, robo-advice, when properly constructed with a…

The 12th edition of the Managed Accounts Report, a joint effort between State Street Global Advisers and Investment Trends, was released this week, with the results offering powerful insights into a fast-evolving financial planning industry. The diverse, but high-growth, sector spans everything from separately managed accounts, to individually managed and managed discretionary accounts, which according to the Institute…

The shift towards non-aligned platform advice forced structural change within wealth management in a way never seen before. Findings from the Banking Royal Commission helped drive the push towards independent platforms and product providers with a renewed client focus. New technology-based platforms have given financial advisers the ability to hold, transact and administer on a much…

Managed funds research and ratings start-up Foresight Analytics is expanding further in the ultra-competitive retail and advised investment sector through the acquisition of the analytics business of Australia Ratings Group. This follows a tie-up announced earlier this month with Style Analytics Group, a factor analysis firm with offices in Boston and London, which provides research…

Despite hope that the vaccines would see a return to normal life in 2021, it appears we will live through at least another 12 months of uncertainty. Few people, outside of the obvious, have felt the emotional and operational brunt of the pandemic more than financial advisers. Most advisers I speak to were inundated with…

The innovative wealth management platform is recognised as Australia’s Best Platform Overall by Investment Trends, and its managed portfolio solution recognised as the Best Platform Managed Accounts Functionality – a title the platform has held close to its chest for the last five years. The Investment Trends Competitive Analysis and Benchmarking report “measures platform functionality across a…

In 1943, the president of IBM, Tom Watson, famously remarked that he saw a worldwide market for “maybe five computers”. Bringing that forecast up to date, IDC, a global technology research firm, predicts that by the time we reach 2025 the planet will host 56 billion connected devices. The internet of things (IoT) is not…