Sweeping changes tear up the rule book And so it begins. April 6, 2015 is a day that few in the retirement industry had predicted, as individuals are handed unprecedented freedom to access their defined contribution (DC) pensions. The biggest pension revolution we’ve seen in our lifetime, it gives those over the age of 55... MORE
A Bravura Solutions’ snap online poll of the Australian life insurance industry has revealed the highest priorities for life companies over the next two and five years, as well as their preparedness to respond to key trends. Conducted in conjunction with the Financial Services Council (FSC) as part of Evolve, FSC’s 2015 Annual Life Insurance... MORE
Recently the smartwatch maker Pebble shattered Kickstarter’s crowdfunding records, raising more than $5.7 million in just six hours. With an increasing number of companies and individuals turning to this creative medium to launch portable party drinks coolers or long awaited movies, the appetite for alternative ways to raise money is clear. Peer-to-peer lending (P2P) is... MORE
Over the past 50 years, the UK has experienced fundamental changes to consumer savings habits. In the medium to long-term, these have the potential to be detrimental to individuals’ financial wellbeing, as well as our economy. In addition to low savings rates and poor financial resilience, we face a tipping point in 2035 when individuals... MORE
There is little doubt that disruption within the financial services industry is on its way and will exert considerable pressure upon businesses to keep up or be left behind. However, for savvy providers ready to use digital technology to simplify the consumer experience, it can present exciting new business opportunities. There is a lot of... MORE
Everyone acknowledges that SuperStream has imposed a significant burden on super funds and the pain won’t go away any time soon. The bulk of automated contributions processing and electronic communication between funds is still to be implemented and will involve significant effort from all parties in the next year or two. It’s valuable, though, to... MORE
Following on from my previous whitepaper on the top 10 trends in life insurance, and with the upcoming ASFA National Conference just around the corner, I thought it timely to look at the superannuation industry next. This whitepaper identifies 10 major trends in the Australian super industry and assesses their future impact on the sector.... MORE
George Osborne moves to end the 55% ‘death tax’ on pension pots in drawdown On Monday this week the Chancellor, George Osborne, announced at the Tory Party Conference further changes to the UK pensions landscape. This follows the radical pension freedom reforms announced in the March 2014 budget. The new move to scrap the 55%... MORE
In recent years, the pursuit of competitive advantage among wealth management companies has seen a shift in focus from good record keeping to the analysis and interpretation of those records to better understand and serve the customer. In today’s financial services landscape, achieving high integrity and highly secure record administration is a given, not a point... MORE
This year’s annual SMSF Professionals’ Association (SPAA) conference series provided a terrific opportunity for discussion and debate and it was interesting to hear the delegates’ views on where the opportunities lie to improve the industry and its operations. Key topics discussed ranged from in-house asset rules and related party transactions through to the ATO’s new... MORE