Financial planning defined in “national interest”
The Financial Planning Association (FPA) has welcomed the government’s release of draft legislation for enshrining the terms financial planner and financial adviser in Australian law. The draft...
View ArticleAccountants AFSL will be “restrictive and complex”
Australian accountants are highly unlikely to take up the financial services license as it is currently proposed, according to specialists Accountable Financial Solutions. Accountable director David...
View ArticleLawyers and FoFA: answers to curly questions
Can dealer groups retain volume bonuses under the Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) reforms? Do you need to be a mind reader to figure out what the Australian Securities and Investments Commission...
View ArticleASIC puts best interest, scaled advice under tree
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has released final guidance for two aspects of the Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) reforms – the best interests duty and scaled advice. The...
View ArticleWill asset-based fees go up in smoke?
Financial advisers may need to rethink how they charge for advice as asset-based fees have the potential to create just as much conflict of interest as commissions. This is the legal view of Claire...
View ArticleCormann attacks Shorten over super tax grab
The federal election may be months away but Senator Mathias Cormann was a man in a hurry at Friday’s conclusion of the SPAA National Conference in Melbourne. Before a receptive audience, the shadow...
View ArticleAccountants reject APES as FoFA swings into action
Discontent in the ranks of a peak accountancy body and confusion around accreditation for accountants wishing to offer financial advice in self-managed super funds (SMSFs) has clouded the debate on...
View ArticleFoFA’s final construction as guidance arrives
Licensees currently reviewing their operating frameworks are set for a busy week with guidance on conflicted remuneration and codes approval expected later today (Wednesday) or on Thursday. This final...
View ArticleCode guidance released, conflicted rem delayed
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has released its final guidance on financial services sector codes of conduct but delayed releasing guidance on conflicted remuneration until...
View ArticleFPA, AFA diverge over codes as questions remain
The industry has generally welcomed the release of the Australian Securities and Investment Commission’s (ASIC) regulatory guidance on codes of conduct, although the opt-in exemption continues to be...
View Article“Grandfathering” delayed as ASIC tackles conflict
The Financial Planning Association has welcomed the federal government’s draft amendments to key conflicted remuneration measures as a “common sense compromise”. FPA chief executive Mark Rantall said...
View ArticleRiding the wave: a guide to the latest FoFA changes
When financial anthropologists pick over the legacy of the Future of Financial Advice reforms in years to come, the first week of March is likely to be marked as significant – as much for what didn’t...
View ArticleKell: codes about great service over time
When the Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) regime kicks off on July 1, the buzzword for all financial planners, dealer groups and licensees should be “alignment”. And Australian Securities and...
View ArticleLegally designated terms before Parliament
The bid to enshrine the terms financial planner and financial adviser in law is likely to face its first significant challenge this week in the House of Representatives. While the discord over the last...
View ArticleTax threat to advisers could be bigger than FoFA
Financial planners entering the industry after July 1 face the risk of inadvertently breaching the Tax Agent Services Act, with many dealer groups unaware that they will potentially need to satisfy a...
View ArticleIndustry bodies ask for time in tax agent minefield
The Financial Planning Association (FPA) and the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) have united behind a bid to defer the application of the Tax Agent Services Act (TASA) to financial advisers. In...
View ArticleFSC calls for uniformity on grandfathering rules
The Financial Services Council wants clarity from Treasury on draft regulations around the grandfathering of existing clients, which continues to muddy the conflicted remuneration provision of the...
View ArticleHoliday over for advisers on tax services: IPA
A peak accounting body believes financial planners offering tax advice services have “compromised” consumer protection and has called on Treasury to regulate advisers under the Tax Agent Services Act...
View ArticleTASA train wreck awaits hero
The impending application of the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (TASA) to financial planners has been described as potentially more onerous than the Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) reforms as it will...
View ArticleAccounting rules arrive with compromise on fees
The Accounting Professional and Ethical Standards Board (APESB) has issued APES 230 Financial Planning Services, which sets new requirements for accountants providing financial advice. The...
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