US FPA conference kicks off
About 3,500 financial services professionals, including 100 Australians, crammed into a Boston conference venue to catch the US-based FPA annual conference, Success Forum 2000.
About 3,500 financial services professionals, including 100 Australians, crammed into a Boston conference venue to catch the US-based FPA annual conference, Success Forum 2000.
According to one of the Australian delegates, Westpac Financial Services managing director Michael Migro, the highlight of the first day was the address from Morning-star chief executive Don Phillips.
Phillips told the conference consumers would continue to seek better access to tech-nology and better access to the performance information that relates directly to their portfolio.
Phillips said consumers would increasingly demand what he calls the “actual” returns on their funds rather than just the published returns. He says investors rarely get in-formation on actual returns because they move in and out of the funds during the re-porting periods.
In the future, financial planners and fund managers will need to provide consumers with a customised report on the fund’s return, including tax implications, fees and actual cash flow into the fund. Consumers will want to know if the distributions are made in cash or are reinvested to make the fund look more attractive.
“These kinds of disclosures are coming soon, and they will allow investors to make comparisons along lines that matter to them,” he said.
Other information consumers will be asking for is the remuneration structure for the person managing the fund, in a manner similar to the way a chief executives salary is printed in annual reports.
Migro says the implications of Phillips message for Australian financial planners are that they must get to know the kinds of tools being used by consumers and to help tham use these tools better.
“Become familiar with the tools that your clients have access to and help them in their search for information,” he says.
“It’s a great opportunity to facilitate investors’ access to information, so don’t stand in the way of their quest but instead, help them.”
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