Industry

Financial advice practices will find it harder to grow and scale their businesses in an increasingly tech-driven world if they aren’t making smart technology decisions, says Finura’s Peter Worn.

Of the 8,946 practitioner advisers who belonged to either industry group before their April merger, 8,093 have renewed their membership with the merged entity. The FAAA was “very pleased” with the 90 per cent renewal rate, its CEO said, urging stragglers to renew before a grace period ends next month.

The quantum of licensees may be growing, but none of that growth is coming from the big end of town. Advice groups are increasingly eschewing larger groups and pursuing autonomy in the way they run their practice.

A principled approach to advice regulation is clearly the way forward for advisers, Neil Sparks says. But what’s missing in the discussion is how beneficial the Quality of Advice Review output will also be for consumers.

Whether an adviser is based in their state’s capital city or not has more to do with their chosen business model than anything else, according to new research from Wealth Data.

The judge was satisfied that Equity suffered “loss and damage” as a result of AMPFP’s breach of contract, while the language used for the licensee’s treatment of Wealthstone was even stronger. AMP acknowledged the result, and did not rule out an appeal.

The barriers to enter the advice profession differ significantly between the two nations, as do the regulatory parameters. Despite the differences, the US and Australian advice industries have a big problem in common.

The public appears to be rewarding efforts to reshape the financial advice and banking industries after the royal commission, with advisers and the banks both enjoying an increase in faith across the community.

On what was set up as a discussion around the proposals put forward by the Quality of Advice Review, the topic repeatedly shifted to the frustration providers felt at not being able to work with ASIC to bring compliant solutions to market.

Product distribution is still embedded in advice, but with banks out of the game expansive product flogging programs are no longer ubiquitous. Businesses are growing based on their advice proposition now, with investment products increasingly put to the side.

A desire to flaunt ubiquitous wealth on social media is putting moneyed families at risk, according to family office representatives, with extortion and kidnapping “a legitimate concern”.

The infamous open letter penned by advice review leader Michelle Levy wasn’t so much a slight on the government, she explained, but an expression of her consternation with CHOICE. “I think there’s a very profound misunderstanding,” she said.