GoodReturns.co.nz - News

Minister tells industry FMA fees will be comfortable

Advisers will be "very comfortable" with how much they will have to pay in levies to fund regulation, Minister of Commerce Craig Foss has told industry representatives.

Tyndall hooks up with Goldman Sachs

Tyndall has ditched the New York-based boutique manager of its global fixed interest portfolio, replacing it with investment banking giant Goldman Sachs.

Fisher confirms departure of international managers

Fisher Funds has confirmed big changes to its international investment team, with senior portfolio manager Ken Applegate to return to the US and the company's San Francisco office to close.

News Round Up: May 21

Fisher Funds to lose international managers? Where do financial planners sit on the trust scale? New index for the future.

Roest jailed for six and a half years

Former Bridgecorp director Robert Roest has been sentenced to six and a half years in jail, the same term handed down to fellow Bridgecorp director Rod Petricevic.

Big fish plans to swallow little fish

Independent advisers’ pain could become Macquarie Private Wealth New Zealand’s gain, with small advisory businesses its main focus as it looks to nearly double its adviser force.

[Weekly wrap] Looking for consolidation

This week we saw signs of consolidation in the financial adviser industry; also, new research revealed big implications for income investment while life insurance figures showed a worrying decline.

New life insurance business dropped in March Qtr

New business in most product categories of life insurance written by Financial Services Council members fell sharply in the March quarter compared with both the previous quarter and the March quarter last year.

Income investment turned upside down

Low interest rates combined with increasingly attractive yields on the share market mean traditional ideas about the role of bonds and stocks need to be re-examined, new research suggests.

The emerging v submerging economies

Financial advisers need to take the news with a grain of salt if they want to achieve the best results for their clients, according to a well-known international market commentator.

News Round Up: May 14

Liontamer winds things down; Independence under spotlight; Why we have under-insurance; Reserve Bank learns lessons from GFC

[Weekly wrap] Diminishing prospects

The biggest story on Good Returns this week involved a law that could make prospecting for new clients much more difficult for advisers.

IFA slams ‘nanny state’ attitude to advisers

The Institute of Financial Advisers has spoken out against a proposed new law that could severely limit advisers' ability to prospect for new clients, describing it as "nanny state".

Don't tinker with super: AMP

AMP provides an update on its performance and also some terse comments about changes to superannuation.

Advisers snared in door-to-door sales crackdown

Proposed new regulations, which formerly targeted door-to-door salesmen and now look to have a much broader application, could have huge implications for financial advisers and product providers.

Beware talk of the ‘paradigm shift’

For those who say “this time is different” in regard to the commodities boom, NZIER chief economist Shamubeel Eaqub has a simple warning: it probably isn’t.

Dividend obsession hampers NZ stock market

New Zealand's dividend-focused stock market is good for retirees but is crippled by a lack of growth companies, and the blame for its malaise lies in a number of places, a boutique fund manager says.

Frustrating wait for QROPS providers

A month after "Q-Day", New Zealand QROPS providers still find themselves in limbo thanks to delays by the UK tax department in processing their applications to be registered under the new rules.

[Weekly wrap] Currency, cheap advice and SOEs

This week saw advisers scratching their heads over how to deal with the volatile currency and how to provide KiwiSaver advice for $10 a year, while questioning the benefits of the upcoming SOE float.

Advisers not sold on SOE miracle

The partial sell-down of State Owned Enterprises shouldn't be seen as a cure for New Zealand's ailing share market, financial advisers say.

$10 a year not enough for good advice

Advisers are scratching their heads over how to provide their clients adequate advice on KiwiSaver for the “princely sum” of as little as $10 a year.

AFA rejections few and far between

Only three advisers have been declined authorisation for failing to meet ‘good character’ requirements, the Financial Markets Authority has revealed.

Currency game risky for advisers

To hedge or not to hedge, that is the question advisers are asking themselves as the volatile New Zealand dollar continues to make headlines and affect returns.

News Round Up: April 30

[Weekly wrap] Passing judgment

This week saw two important court rulings affecting the financial services sector, but while one made headlines the other one has passed largely unnoticed (except by Good Returns).

Do all advisers need good character?

A court case involving an adviser who was denied authorisation has sparked a call for all advisers to be subject to the same ‘good character' threshold, but not everyone agrees the rules should be changed.

Petricevic gets big jail sentence

Former Bridgecorp managing director Rod Petricevic has been sentenced to six and a half years in jail for misleading investors in the failed finance company.

Voluntary AFAs 'ahead of the game'

Advisers who have become authorised even though they don't need to have made a smart career choice, according to Institute of Financial Advisers president Nigel Tate.

Property tutor’s AFA rejection upheld

A high-profile property figure has failed in his appeal against the Financial Markets Authority's decision to reject him as an Authorised Financial Adviser.

Silver lining for gold market

The price of gold may have dipped from its recent record high but there are a number of positive signs for investors in the precious metal, according to a local expert.

Reserve Bank likely to hold rates low for longer

Weaker than expected inflation and economic growth figures, falling commodity prices and a likely tight government budget mean Reserve Bank governor Alan Bollard is likely to leave interest rates unchanged for an extended period.

KiwiSaver advice ‘isn’t rocket science’

Questions have been asked over whether unnecessary hurdles for advisers are preventing consumers getting access to advice on KiwiSaver.

KiwiSavers unaware of scheme changes

Changes to KiwiSaver that could have a big impact on how much money people contribute the scheme have passed largely unnoticed by many members, a KiwiSaver boss says.

Why NZ dollar could surprise

New Zealand’s economy is doing better than many people think, and the dollar is set to benefit from that with a surprisingly strong run, a fund manager says.

Bridgecorp director Urwin jailed

Former Bridgecorp director Gary Urwin has been sentenced to two years in jail after pleading guilty to 10 Securities Act charges.

QROPS picture still murky

It may be several more weeks before it becomes clear how tough new regulations on UK pension transfers have affected New Zealand’s QROPS market.

News Round Up: April 16

Activity opportunity abounds in global fixed interest; Frozen fund to be split; FMA wants exemption submissions.

[Weekly wrap] Raising the bar

Do the minimum qualifications for AFAs need to be increased? That issue was one of the big stories this week on Good Returns.

FMA’s case against Hanover revealed

The Financial Markets Authority has revealed its case in its civil proceedings against former directors and promoters of Hanover Finance.

Questions over minimum standards for AFAs

Is Level Five enough? That's the question industry training body ETITO is asking the financial services industry in a wide-ranging questionnaire on adviser qualifications.