Regulation

ASIC made no secret of its assertion that Lanterne operated purely as a “licensee for hire”, which is an ominous reminder for licensees operating with thin risk and compliance standards that the regulator is watching.

Transfer Balance Caps, Super Balance Thresholds and the rules overseeing the notice of intent to claim a tax deduction are all overly complex and could do with immediate simplification, according to SMSF Association CEO Peter Burgess.

The government will now follow through on Levy’s proposal to bring licensed financial institutions back into the advice fold, while also agreeing to “modernise” the Safe Harbour Steps and swap SOAs with “advice records”.

The government’s position on what to do with the Safe Harbour Steps is no longer clear, but the chances of seeing it supplanted by the existing Code of Ethics are slim according to the FAAA’s policy chief Phil Anderson.

Even with a lightened agenda, the government failed to finish its homework and instead delivered only a portion of the first tranche of advice reforms. It’s a poor return, and at this rate the advice review could be a ten-year project.

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.

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.

The new association will be branded with its key purpose – providing a unified voice representing advisers – reflected in speech bubbles over the ‘A’s in its name.

The respected lawyer will not see out his contract with the corporate regulator after accepting a role in the commercial sector.

Advisers are rallying around the prospect of upfront advice fees becoming tax deductible after the ATO announced a review of Tax Determination 95/60.

After the regulator abandoned its $500K minimum balance guidance, the SMSF Association says it hopes licensees will reconsider some of the concerns they may have had about low-balance funds.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is making good on promises to combat greenwashing, issuing its second set of fines against a company for misrepresenting the ESG bona fides of an investment product.