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21 January 2025
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There are a lot of vague statements about the costs of financial advice in Australia. This insider's knowledge shows the actual costs are skyrocketing but demand for financial advice remains strong.
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?
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.
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?
Statements by Brian Hartzer, CEO of Westpac, confirm that financial advice delivered by advisers to the mass market is not financially viable, and technology is the solution if most Australians are not to miss out.
In a response to Graham Hand's article on why roboadvice is struggling, the case is made that conventional financial advice will increasingly confine itself to the wealthy, and the mass market needs another solution.
There are at least 20 businesses in Australia operating in 'roboadvice', yet it takes large scale to make these businesses profitable. Most will not make it independently and will need to choose another path.
In Part 2 on roboadvice, we interview the CEO of a business that started out with the resources and ideas to deliver better outcomes to consumers, but decided to pivot away.
On 21 June 2018, Raiz Invest (formerly Acorns) listed on the ASX, valuing the company at $119 million. How does this 'micro investing' platform stack up as a place to invest or buy shares in the company itself?
A former professional footballer draws five lessons from his sporting life into his current career in finance. Success in one year in no way ensures that the next time will be any easier.
Despite the publicity and hype and almost a decade of operation, robo advice businesses in the US have gathered less than 0.1% of assets under management. Why is adoption much slower than expected?
Good financial advice requires finding out a lot about an investor, in the same way a good relationship involves more than a few online questions.
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.
The housing market was subdued in 2024, and pessimism abounds as we start the new year. 2025 is likely to be a tale of two halves, with interest rate cuts fuelling a resurgence in buyer demand in the second half of the year.
The renowned investor has penned his first investor letter for 2025 and it’s a ripper. He runs through what bubbles are, which ones he’s experienced, and whether today’s markets qualify as the third major bubble of this century.
This examines the performance of key asset classes and sub-sectors in 2024 and over longer timeframes, and the lessons that can be drawn for constructing an investment portfolio for the next decade.
Key lessons include expensive stocks can always get more expensive, Bitcoin is our tulip mania, follow the smart money, the young are coming with pitchforks on housing, and the importance of staying invested.
Check out the most-read Firstlinks articles from 2024. From '16 ASX stocks to buy and hold forever', to 'The best strategy to build income for life', and 'Where baby boomer wealth will end up', there's something for all.