Apart from volatile markets and investor sentiment, this year has also seen major policy developments, new investment trends and key career and business moves. Tim Stewar...

A small number of bad apples in the financial services industry once again managed to attract significant attention in 2012....

2012 will stand as a watershed year for the Australian financial planning industry – the year during which the various elements of the Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) l...

Declining interest rates and bond yields, coupled with investors’ thirst for income, means strategies around equity income are here to stay, according to Warwick Cumming....

Investors are not always comfortable with the decisions made by fund managers, especially during volatile periods. Some managers cave in to their demands, while others do...

Stephen Nash looks at the current SMSF allocation of equities versus bonds and argues the reverse allocation would play out significantly in favour of the investor....

AMP's acquisition of Cavendish Group marked the beginning of a major push into the SMSF sector, while in the same month IOOF launched its bid for Plan B....

The launch of a national curriculum for financial planning degrees by the Financial Planning Education Council was a major win for the industry in 2012....

Plan B's Andrew Black could be forgiven for thinking he is being followed by IOOF in the wake of its acquisition of the dealer group....

The Financial Services Council's position on life insurance churn proved controversial, attracting criticism from the likes of Synchron's Don Trapnell....

The Financial Planning Association’s ‘side deal’ with the Industry Super Network on FOFA drew plenty of flack from many key industry figures....