[Weeky Wrap] Back to school for advisers

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Welcome to the first Weekly Wrap of this year. Often the last few weeks of December are a very busy time for news. This year is no exception and I suspect there are still some more big stories to go in the week before Christmas.

Monday, January 25th 2010, 8:13AM

Welcome to the first Weekly Wrap of this year. Often the last few weeks of December are a very busy time for news. This year is no exception and I suspect there are still some more big stories to go in the week before Christmas.

Two themes have already emerged on goodreturns.co.nz this year. One is education, the other is people mobility. What I mean here is that last year we saw a reduced number of new appointments compared to previous year. Already 2010 has seen quite a few announcements and my prediction is there will be many more this year; especially once some of the M&A activity kicks into gear. You can keep track of all the changes on our People Page.

Some of the changes so far include: A new boss at Tyndall; Milford has pinched someone from BT, Leonie Wallwork has switched camps and FundSource has a new chief.

In the education area ETITO has approved some more organisations to provide training to advisers including the Open Polytechnic. Also the Strategi group has set up an "institute" which has been approved.

ETITO has launched - in a very low key way - its online tool which allows advisers to find out what they need to do to reach the required education level. This tool costs $28 to use and delivers advisers with a comprehensive report.

If you want to know what you will be required to do to meet the continuing professional development criteria then read this story and the attached discussion paper. (Reading ASSET Magazine may qualify as part of your professional development).

Last year might have been a rubbish 12 months on many counts, but not from an New Zealand sharemarket investment point of view. The latest figures from FundSource show funds were generating returns around the 30% mark and we reveal here the top performing funds for the year.

Meanwhile Huljich Wealth Management is branching out and offering PIE compliant, regular retail funds to go with its KiwiSaver offering.

The Insurance News section has been relatively busy already. In there we report on Southern Cross's plans to roll out a critical illness product, the Health Funds Association badgering the government to give tax breaks to health insurance and news that about Sovereign's claims paying rating.

To round this section off Russell Hutchinson spares a thought for insurance brokers in the United States.

Opinion: Spare a thought...There are many changes afoot in our industry, which will land this year. However, spare a thought for the insurance broker in the US.

One section with heaps of news is www.depositrates.co.nz. Amongst the headlines already we have:

Strategic's Finnigan winds back hours to help cut costs

PGG Wrightson optimistic about fortunes in 2010

Mascot failure likely to cost taxpayers $33 million

Deposit rate war kicks off 2010 in longer-dated space

Fidelity pays investors after 18-month wait

Bridgecorp receivers all but give up on Momi

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