AFSLs

Financial planning

ASIC releases adviser reference checking protocol

The corporate regulator has released its protocol around how licensees should be reference checking prospective financial advisers they wish to employ. ...

Financial planning

WT Financial Group looks to more acquisitions

The group that just acquired Sentry is looking to continue its expansion to become one of the biggest mid-tier independent financial planning groups by organic growth and...

Financial planning

Call to use Single Disciplinary Body to reduce, not increase costs

The Government and Treasury should seek to avoid repeating the FASEA mistakes by using the establishment of a Single Disciplinary Body to reduce regulatory costs. ...

Financial planning

More licensees close as adviser numbers continue to drop

Another eight licensees chose to close this week, which translated into a loss of 15 adviser roles, while the number of actual advisers continued to drop to 22,201. ...

Financial planning

Report confirms advice gap

The challenge for financial advisers is understanding their client’s advice needs and what they can afford. ...

Policy & Regulation

ASIC claims to have planners in its regulatory ranks

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is insisting it has empathy for financial planning licensees because it has both former advisers and paraplanners in ...

Financial planning

ASIC’s adviser reference-checking protocols potentially ‘prejudicial’

Financial advisers could be placed at risk of retribution when switching licensees under the reference checking protocols being put forward by the Australian Securities a...

Financial planning

Key licensees hit back at FPA adviser registration proposal

The Financial Planning Association’s proposals to have adviser registration over-ride licensing has run into a backlash from key financial planning licensees who say they...

Financial planning

AFCA will use FASEA code

The Australian Financial Complaints Authority has said it will take the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority code of ethics into account in making its determi...

Financial planning

Licensees face potential court action of FDS failures

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has foreshadowed court action in the wake of a review of fee disclosure statements and renewal notices which uncovere...

Financial planning

FPA canvasses new licensing options

The Financial Planning Association is canvassing what the industry might look like over the next half-decade including whether a new licensing regime may evolve....

Policy & Regulation

BOLR: not cut and dried

Melbourne-based lawyer, Dan Mackay, argues that AMP is on far from firm legal ground in its approach to advisers and Buyer of Last Resort....

Policy & Regulation

ASIC stands by Responsible Manager process

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has said that claims that it causes serious delays in “stringently reviewing” responsible manager appointments are “p...

Superannuation

AAT decision puts past offenders on notice

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal has upheld a decision to refuse Superannuation Warehouse’s application for a limited Australian financial services licence, after its ...

Policy & Regulation

Hundreds of firms in Australia affected by Brexit

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has confirmed hundreds of firms operating in the Australian financial services industry are affected by the United Ki...