Legislation

An approved degree doesn’t necessarily make for a better adviser, but if the government wants to get the experienced pathway legislation right it must disclose which pathway an adviser took to accreditation.

While the need for retirement income solutions is great enough to be mandated in some corners, the local annuity market remains a tough nut to crack. So Generation Life has reached out to advisers and a host of others for input into its product offerings.

The Financial Services Council commissioned the Retirement Income Policy Roadmap to help the superannuation system put greater emphasis on the drawdown phase. Industry leaders say the biggest hurdle is a deeply entrenched fear of running out of money.

If super funds can’t implement the retirement income covenant’s mandate to provide retirement guidance, the review lead pointed out, how are they going to handle the responsibility of saving financial advice?

The minister is putting his financial advice eggs in the superannuation basket, with dramatic changes to the existing intrafund advice models being considered. “I don’t think fiddling with intrafund advice is going to get us where we need to be,” he said.

The minister was peppered with questions about phases 1 and 2 of the the government’s advice review response, as well as specialist accreditation and data access during a series of events in the sunshine state.

While finding that more research is needed to determine if the “definitions, metrics and formulas” used to calculate levies remain fit‑for‑purpose, Treasury was able to determine that advisers should no longer benefit from discounted levies.

The controversial, long-delayed scheme doesn’t protect consumers from high profile managed investment scheme failures like Sterling and Timbercorp, FAAA CEO Sarah Abood said, and could end up adding another layer of unfair fees at the feet of advisers.

Stakeholders have welcomed a recommendation from the Senate Economics Legislative Committee that the government review its controversial plan to limit franking credits stemming from capital raisings and share buybacks.

Financial services minister Stephen Jones has accepted 14 of Michelle Levy’s 22 recommendations to increase advice access, with super funds set to play an expanded role and advisers benefitting from a drastic cut to red tape. Banks and insurers, however, have had their advice reform hopes dashed – for now.

The test allows investors who can certify that they earn $250,000 a year or have more than $2.5 million in net assets to access higher-risk securities normally off-limits to individuals. But many say the test is confusing and outdated, and an independent statutory body has called for an update.

Multi-strategy separately managed accounts (SMAs) are “taking off like you wouldn’t believe”, according to SQM Research CEO Louis Christopher, but the rapid increase in their use could also be creating a regulatory blind spot.