government

Financial planning

Five regrettable reasons to delay FOFA implementation

Anthony James and Jim Boynton explain why financial planners shouldn’t delay their FOFA implementation....

Superannuation

The Government has been taken to task over failure to deliver on details necessary to appropriately design MySuper products....

Superannuation

FSC governance policy imposes super board independence

The Financial Services Council has released its superannuation governance policy, which enforces an independent chair and majority independent directors for trustees who ...

Financial planning

Foreign investors reap benefits of tax law

Foreign investors will be exempt from paying tax when using an Australian fund manager under the Investment Manager Regime which passed through Parliament yesterday....

Superannuation

MySuper passes, ISN welcomes 'flipping' ban

MySuper legislation has passed through the House of Representatives, and the ISN has welcomed an amendment that will prevent members being transferred without their conse...

Financial planning

How much is a financial adviser’s independence worth?

John Hewison believes the financial planning industry cannot move much forward until the link between product and advice is broken....

Financial planning

Shorten accused of trying to circumvent Productivity Commission

The Opposition says the Government is trying to short-circuit the Productivity Commission by establishing a formal position ahead of its findings....

Financial planning

The Australian Democrats 'jump the gun' on low doc loans

The Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia has hit back at claims made by the Australian Democrats that large numbers of borrowers were coerced into low doc home l...

Editorial

Churning up a heated debate

Mike Taylor writes that when FSC chief executive John Brogden announced the framework of new claw-back provisions around the sale of life policies, he reignited a debate ...

Superannuation

Alarm sounded on SMSFs' LRB deals

The growing number of self-managed super fund trustees being advised to enter into highly geared limited recourse borrowing arrangements in order to purchase assets for c...

Financial planning

CSSA wants grandfathering clarity

The Government needs to release details on how grandfathering will apply to MySuper to allow super companies time to fit in with legislation, says CSSA President Douglas ...

Superannuation

Draft pensions ruling leaves uncertainty: SPAA

The SMSF Professionals' Association of Australia has urged the Australian Taxation Office to release the final tax ruling on when a superannuation income stream commences...