The frictionless movement of assets is becoming a common feature of markets around the developed world, yet Australia remains a step behind. The ASX is in no mood to rush the move to T+1, however, after its calamitous attempt to implement distributed ledger technology.
It’s a dire situation for consumers but a massive tailwind for financial advisers. More people and more capital in the superannuation coffers than ever, with a stubbornly small number of advisers to service them.Â
The biggest advice and investment stories of 2022
The release of review leader Michelle Levy’s draft recommendations topped this year’s most read stories, yet the proliferation of well-read stories that carried an investment theme – on the ASX, SMSFs and markets – highlighted the interest of advisers in finding content evaluating what has been a choppy year in markets.
2023 will be pivotal for advisers. The government will release Levy’s final review document when it’s good and ready; expect most recommendations to be agreed upon by the government, ushering in a new deregulatory era. The industry will change shape around these changes as a collective effort to bring advice to the masses takes hold.
From an investment perspective, who knows? If equities keep getting bashed around, defensive alternatives could continue their surge as investors look for new safe harbours. Fund managers will, again, have their backs to the wall. As in 2022, much will depend on geopolitical factors.
For now, enjoy a recap of the five most read stories for the year behind us.
1. SOAs to go, advice upended in review proposal paper
Advice is set for a dramatic shift towards deregulation, with the Levy proposal paper sketching a plan to ditch statements of advice and best interest duty in favour of a new “good advice” directive.
2. ASX drops plan to replace CHESS with blockchain, writes off $250M
The long-running project has been shelved after a devastating Accenture report cited multiple areas of concern. ASIC chair Joe Longo said the ASX “failed to demonstrate appropriate control”.
3. The top-performing Australian equities funds for 2021
2022 was a pivotal year for managed discretionary accounts (MDAs). Funds under management surpassed the magical $100 billion mark for the first time, as the uptake among financial advisers was boosted by Covid-19.
4. New research puts paid to SMSF performance debate
There’s always been a fight between different superannuation funds – retail, industry, and SMSF – about who performs best. But determining how performance matches up between them has been difficult.
5. Ringing the bell for low returns
The US share market has compounded returns exceeding 18 per cent per year since the depths of the Global Financial Crisis. Despite the all-too-consistent prognostications in nearly every year since, that the market has become over-valued, investors have clearly been rewarded for taking risk.
