Financial planners urged to avoid share churners


Financial advisers looking to switch to managed funds have been urged to avoid managers who churn through shares to reduce the tax impact on their client.
Zenith Investment Partners national sales manager John Nicoll said minimal churn in investments results in the reduction of the amount of capital gains tax and other taxes a client was paying on their investments.
While Nicoll admitted managed funds probably weren't as effective for a high tax paying client compared to direct equities, fund managers themselves were becoming more aware of the importance of managing their tax well on behalf of investors.
There is a huge difference between the good fund managers and the large benchmark-huggers, Nicoll said.
Furthermore, the focus has to be on finding the right fund managers and blending them in the right way.
It was debatable what impact managed funds really had on tax efficiency, but Nicoll said it was more about a lack of control over tax.
Larger dealer groups who had never used model portfolios were looking to introduce them for business efficiency, he added.
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