Opinion

Most advisers know the value of changing their language when switching from industry speak to client discourse, but many still fall into the trap of distancing themselves from clients by using jargon and buzzwords.

To make advice work, advisers need to home in on the centre of their business proposition, sometimes at the expense of their better intentions.

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.

The Australian stock market has seen a stagnation in returns since 2006, leaving many questioning the wisdom of long-term equity positions. For retirees, it’s a particularly fraught issue, as their financial security depends on how these investments perform.

The meteoric rise of industry funds has earned them a rightful place at the top of the superannuation food chain. But their standing is not a given, and the failures are starting to mount.

Technology stock valuations are rising, bucking the prevailing market conditions and further inverting the traditional bond/equities relationship. “This shouldn’t be happening”, says Ruffer’s Steve Russell.

Diligence and frugality can lead to wonderful retirement outcomes, writes Alteris Financial Group senior adviser Jaxon King. But if the journey to retirement is bleak, it could sap the joy out of reaching the destination.

Events like the Israel-Palestine and Russia-Ukraine conflicts may shock the world, and they may even influence markets. But history tells us geopolitical risks are always present, mostly factored in, and should never predicate panic selling.

The aggressive sell off in US bonds has prompted many to speculate that interest rates have adjusted upwards on a structural basis. But Ninety One investment strategist Russell Silbertson takes a different view.

When a client posed the question to Wattle Partners adviser Drew Meredith it caught him off guard: “Am I good client?” they asked. “How could I be better?”

When an industry full of Gen X and Baby Boomer advisers is assigned the task of training swathes of largely millennial acolytes, there’s bound to be a few bones of contention according to Brisbane adviser Jaxon King.

A data dependent Fed will eventually need to acknowledge signs of a strengthening global economy, says Neuberger Berman. Bolts of information that sway the central bank will continue to keep market watchers on tenterhooks.