AFSLs

Financial planning

Hundreds of AFSLs with retail authorisation must now report internal dispute resolution to ASIC by 29 February as the final tranche of the regime’s implementation kicks i...

Financial planning

Will advisers ever match consumer demand?

While the Quality of Advice Review is expected to positively impact financial adviser numbers, Rainmaker’s new projections underline the continuous challenge they face to...

Financial planning

AMP loses over 150 advisers in a year

Whilst micro-AFSLs’ numbers continue to grow, larger licensees including AMP and Insignia Financial are struggling to hold down their advisers....

Policy & Regulation

Litigation funding reforms introduced in Parliament

The bill will allow courts to be empowered to approve or vary the method for distributing claim proceeds to non-members of the scheme....

Policy & Regulation

Bulk upload reports for breach reporting allowed

To reduce the reporting burden, the corporate regulator is allowing licensees to batch upload reports that derive from a single root cause as part of the new breach repor...

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...