Editorial

The Government’s 2017 Budget changes to financial services may have been modest but Mike Taylor writes that they will come at considerable cost....

Editorial

Why an ASIC product-intervention power should be welcomed

Financial services product manufacturers should be prepared to stand behind their offerings and ensure they are directed to the right consumers by the right people....

Editorial

One rule for all

Wayne Leggett explains why it is mortgage brokers, not planners, who have the upper hand in terms of influencing the amount of money they manage....

Editorial

Only a jackass would breed a mule

Allowing young Australians to access their super to fund home purchases is tantamount to crossing a quarter-horse with a donkey to deliver a not very pretty mule....

Editorial

Objectively winding back the ‘significance test’

Mike Taylor writes that when the Government introduced the ‘significance test’ to the AFSL breach reporting regime in 2003 it was seen as sensible moderation but all that...

Editorial

Will regulation blunt the ‘direct’ approach?

ASIC is taking a close look at the sale of life insurance direct to consumers and Mike Taylor writes that the regulator’s findings may significantly alter the commercial ...

Editorial

Different sauce for the industry funds gander

What is the difference between a ‘rebate’ and a ‘commission’ and is a different standard being applied to the ‘risk sharing rebates’ paid to industry funds by insurers?...

Editorial

185 bad apples sour planning strudel

The recent Australian Securities and Investments Commission report on how large financial institutions oversee their advisers has served as a sobering reminder of the cha...

Editorial

Why mortgage brokers should be worried

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission review of Mortgage Broker Remuneration is reminiscent of the findings which gave rise to the Future of Financial Advi...

Editorial

Can insurers match advisers in accepting pain of change?

If insurers were made to drop underwriting policies at the time of claim could they accept the accompanying commercial pain?...

Editorial

Can the Govt continue to deflect a Royal Commission?

Mike Taylor writes that in a delicately-balanced House of Representatives there is no guarantee the Government can continue to deflect pressure for a banking Royal Commis...

Editorial

Banks less enamoured of wealth management

The days of the major banks competing for major wealth management assets are gone due to a combination of indifferent financial results and regulatory and reputational ri...