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22 December 2024
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The number of financial planners is shrinking, the price is increasing, and trust is still low. With increasing numbers of Baby Boomers heading into retirement, the need for advice has arguably never been greater.
By focusing on an individual rather than a group, professional investors get closer to the people they are trying to serve. Too many client meetings focus on the markets and not enough on meeting client goals.
The number of financial advisers in Australia has almost halved at a time of greater need than ever. What has happened to the industry and its clients as yet another Quality of Advice Review takes place?
Seeking financial advice can be a daunting task and over 80% of Australians do not have a financial adviser. Here are the steps involved in understanding the advice process to encourage more people to jump in.
The Morningstar CEO on democratising investing, why saving in your youth is crucial, and why most investors care more about paying off their debts than comparing their results against benchmarks.
The value of financial advice is increasingly questioned after the Royal Commission and changes to advice business models, but the case for financial advice for many people remains strong.
In solving problems relating to conflicts of interest, comprehensive financial advice will be increasingly confined to the wealthy. Advisers respond plus comments by Perpetual's Adam Curtis.
The overhaul of financial advice practices affects not only advisers but also their clients. Legislative changes are coming by mid next year and too few people are considering them.
In solving problems relating to conflicts and best interest duties, comprehensive financial advice has become so expensive that it will be increasingly confined to the wealthy. Is that what we want?
Thanks to the Royal Commission, everybody is aware of the problems with vertical integration and in-house conflicts for financial advisers. What should advisers and their clients look for?
In the world of SMSFs, an aligned accountant and financial adviser can make a formidable, synergistic team. Specialists who can’t be friends can be the opposite, when the best interests of the client are paramount.
Financial advice took at battering at the Royal Commission, but if the focus starts on the client's goals and eliminates conflicts, changes can set the industry up for a better future.
It’s with heavy hearts that we announce Firstlinks’ co-founder and former Managing Editor, Graham Hand, has died aged 66. Graham was a legendary figure in the finance industry and here are three tributes to him.
Last year, I wrote an article suggesting returns from ASX stocks would trample those from housing over the next decade. One year later, this is an update on how that forecast is going and what's changed since.
Australia is in the early throes of an intergenerational wealth transfer worth an estimated $3.5 trillion. Here's a case study highlighting some of the challenges with transferring wealth between generations.
The Future Fund's original purpose was to meet the unfunded liabilities of Commonwealth defined benefit schemes. These liabilities have ballooned to an estimated $290 billion and taxpayers continue to be treated like fools.
ASFA provides a key guide for how much you will need to live on in retirement. Unfortunately it has many deficiencies, and the averages don't tell the full story of the growing gender superannuation gap.
The Big Four banks have had an extraordinary run and it’s left income investors with a conundrum: to stick with them even though they now offer relatively low dividend yields and limited growth prospects or to look elsewhere.