MAGAZINE OF CHOICE FOR AUSTRALIA’S WEALTH INDUSTRY
www.moneymanagement.com.au
Vol. 33 No 11 | July 18, 2019
ESTATE PLANNING
INFOCUS
Making clients’ final plan
Everyone is responsible for investing in the planet’s future
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How life insurers can put customers first
Politicians lobbied on FASEA failings
MARKETS
BY MIKE TAYLOR
PRINT POST APPROVED PP100008686
A new dawn for financial markets AS we begin the new financial year, Money Management has spoken to industry experts on their outlook for markets in a world dominated by volatility and US/China trade wars. From a macro perspective, global growth has been slowing as the trade wars between US President Donald Trump and Chinese Premier Xi Jinping continue to drag on. But for Australia, the country could be an unlikely beneficiary of the dispute due to China’s reliance on our iron ore supply. The iron ore price, one of Australia’s biggest exports, reached a five-year high in July, helping Australia report a record trade surplus of $5.7 billion. Meanwhile, all eyes will be on Scott Morrison’s Coalition Government this year following his shock victory in May, as pressure builds on the Government to push ahead with fiscal spending. Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, Philip Lowe, has already warned the Government that monetary policy will not alone be enough to support the economy, having repeatedly initiated rate cuts in June and July. Instead, Lowe suggested fiscal support or structural polices were needed if improvements were to be seen in the economy and inflation was to stay within range.
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WIFS
Full feature on page 18
FINANCIAL advisers are using a Financial Planning Association (FPA) document highlighting the still unfinished elements of the new Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA) regime to lobby parliamentarians to back the legislative amendments necessary for a 12-month extension to the FASEA adviser exam deadline. The FPA produced a document calling for the 12-month extension to 1 January, 2022, which it claims will restore the full two-year period for financial planners to study for and take the exam. In doing so, the FPA document not only pointed to what the FASEA has not yet delivered but pointed out the following: “The roll-out of the exam has been delayed, along with
supporting elements for the exam including reading and study material, bridging courses and a guidance document for the Code of Ethics. “The first exam sitting was only held in June 2019 and was only available in capital cities. Financial planners in regional areas will have to wait until 2020 for the exam to be available in their area through digital delivery. “It will take between six and eight weeks to get the results of the exam, meaning planners will not be able to rely on sitting the exam after October 2020, as they will not receive the results before the deadline. “The Code of Ethics, which is a key subject of the exam, was released in February 2019. FASEA has yet to release a promised guidance document on how it will Continued on page 3
Grattan super analysis just plain wrong CONSERVATIVE think tank, the Grattan Institute has managed to unite the superannuation industry against it with its latest analysis around retirement funding and lifting the superannuation guarantee (SG) to 12 per cent. The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA), the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST) and Industry Super Australia (ISA) were all prompted to dismiss the Grattan Institute analysis on the basis of it being yet another spurious attack on the superannuation system. ASFA chief executive, Dr Martin Fahy, led the way by claiming the Grattan analysis “continues the pattern of selective and misleading modelling that seeks to undermine a retirement system that is globally acknowledged as one of the best in the world”. Continued on page 3
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