Personal reflections on the history of CFS
Editor’s note: On 22 August 1988, an accountant named Chris Cuffe joined First State Fund Managers (FSFM) at the age of 28, shortly after it had commenced managing $300 million of internal State Bank...
View ArticleLucy Brogden on the link between mental and financial health
How can financial institutions care for customers in a way that goes beyond the balance sheet? If you were to ask financial services executives what role the sector plays in our society, some might...
View ArticleMost estate planning for tax is inadequate
Over the next 20 years, there will be an intergenerational transfer of wealth the like of which has never been seen before. Wealthy baby boomer parents will die leaving their estates, in most cases, to...
View ArticleWhat happens at death of an SMSF member?
Do you ever wonder what happens to your super after you die? This is particularly important if you have an SMSF. No one wants to burden others with planning a funeral and figuring out what to do with...
View ArticleStrategies for avoiding the super ‘death duty’
Whenever I make a speech to retirees, I talk about the death tax of 15% (or 17% when it includes the Medicare levy), which can apply to superannuation death benefits. Most people have never heard of...
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How much is really needed in retirement?
In the UK in 2014, The Independent Review of Retirement Income (IRRI) was commissioned to look at retirement incomes. Two recommendations from IRRI were: “The use of deterministic projections of the...
View Article‘Best interests’ requires walking in their shoes
As financial advisers, we are subject to a ‘best interests’ duty whereby we must act in the best interests of our clients when providing advice. It seems obvious, doesn’t it, but historically this...
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The reality of three phases of retirement
Planning for how you would like your retirement years to play out can be an exciting proposition. Amid those holidays and time spent with family, however, it is important to also consider the ‘frailty...
View ArticleIncentives at heart of Commission’s findings
The Financial Services Royal Commission released its much-anticipated Interim Report on 28 September. Volume 1 (of 3 volumes) itself, at over 115,000 words, would fill around 400 pages in a paperback...
View ArticleDon’t allow a BoMaD to ruin your retirement
This article is the third in a series written for Cuffelinks by leading retirement website YourLifeChoices. It reports on the financial impact on parents who are assisting adult children with loans to...
View ArticleRoboadvice 2: Why an early roboadvisor pivoted away
In Part 1 on roboadvice, we looked at the participants attempting to carve out a role, hoping that the support of startup capital lasts long enough to find a buyer, pivot to something else or show a...
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The 4Ps of roboadvice: persist, pivot, partner or pack up
Mainstream media loves to publish articles about how roboadvice is the future of financial advice, especially in the face of the practices exposed by the Financial Services Royal Commission. The...
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Roboadvice’s role in financial advice’s future
A rebuttal to Graham Hand’s The 4Ps of roboadvice: persist, pivot, partner or pack up. Sometime in 2018, the Australian population reached 25 million. There are almost 20 million mobile phones in use...
View ArticleRoyal Commission must remove aged care anomalies
The Royal Commission into Aged Care will resolve once and for all the debate about staffing ratios. It is imperative that the Commission identifies appropriate minimum standards of care. It is equally...
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Do you know the fees you’re paying?
Most investors don’t have a clue how much they pay across all the different types of fees they are charged. There are fees for advice, administration, investment management, tax planning, and more. The...
View ArticleRoyal Commission report nails adviser conflicts of interest
The Financial Services Royal Commission asked Professor Sunita Sah for a report on how to mitigate the negative effects of conflicts of interests that influence financial advisers. Professor Sah...
View ArticleGrandfathered commissions: what’s it about?
Investment Trends recently released its 2018 Financial Advice Report, an in-depth survey of the appetite and use of financial advice among Australian adults. The Financial Services Royal Commission has...
View ArticleSenior Australians’ changing relationship with financial advisers
This article is the fourth in a series written by leading retirement website YourLifeChoices. It draws on surveys that show the level of satisfaction with the financial services sector....
View ArticleConexus sees conflict in fund manager awards
Editor’s introduction Colin Tate is CEO of Conexus Financial, publisher of several trade titles. We admire that he has taken a stance against fund manager awards where conflicts arise. As he says, the...
View Article6 quick answers on appointing an enduring Power of Attorney
There may be times when, perhaps due to family illness or incapacity or if someone is working abroad, someone else needs to hold an enduring power of attorney (POA) over a person’s financial and legal...
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