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Editor's Choice

Australian Retirement Trust, Qantas Super set merger date

ELIZA BAVIN
Australian Retirement Trust and Qantas Super have signed an SFT and provided an update on when the merger will be complete.

Senate calls to overhaul super fund boards

ELIZA BAVIN
The report, which calls for major reforms to board appointments, has been slammed as "rushed" and "unserious".

Brookfield subsidiary launches credit fund locally

KARREN VERGARA
A Brookfield Asset Management subsidiary has launched the Oaktree Strategic Credit Fund (AUD) to Australian wholesale investors and appointed responsible entity (RE) duties to Channel Investment Management.

Institutional sales exec exits Ares Management

ELIZABETH FRY
James Fleiter, a member of the institutional sales team for Ares Management Australia, has left the alternative investment manager.

Financial Planning

Centaur goes self-licensed, appoints former dealer group head

ANDREW MCKEAN   Financial planning firm Centaur Financial Services has moved to its own AFSL and made a key hire in the process.

Shift needed in retirement income advice: Allianz Retire+

MATTHEW WAI   A new report suggests that the adoption of retirement income philosophies and a new approach to risk profiling would see financial advisers better assist their clients in the retirement phase.

Investment

AMP profit dives as advice business sale bites

ANDREW MCKEAN   AMP's statutory net profit after tax (NPAT) slumped to $150 million in the 2024 financial year, nearly half the previous year's result, which the firm attributed to simplification spend and the sale of its advice business.

Brookfield subsidiary launches credit fund locally

KARREN VERGARA   A Brookfield Asset Management subsidiary has launched the Oaktree Strategic Credit Fund (AUD) to Australian wholesale investors and appointed responsible entity (RE) duties to Channel Investment Management.

Insurance

Treasury consults on genetic test ban in life insurance

JAMIE WILLIAMSON   The industry can now provide feedback on the proposed ban on the use of adverse genetic test results in life insurance.

Resolution Life completes NZ$410m life business transaction

MATTHEW WAI   Resolution Life's trans-Tasman life insurer, Resolution Life Australasia, has completed the acquisition of Asteron Life New Zealand.

SMSF

ASIC updates on SMSF advice review

ELIZA BAVIN   The regulator is conducting surveillance of personal advice provided to retail clients about establishing SMSFs.

SMSFs outperform APRA funds over five years: Research

MATTHEW WAI   New research shows that self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) outperformed APRA-regulated funds by 1.2 percentage points per annum in the five years to June 2023.

Economics

Trump tariffs to hit Australia

ANDREW MCKEAN   US President Donald Trump is set to announce 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports, which will apply to all countries, including Australia.

Investment down as uncertainty rises

ELIZA BAVIN   Uncertainty around the future has hit the outlook for business investment, according to Deloitte Access Economics.

Regulatory

Finance workers worry about job displacement from AI, government urged to take action

KARREN VERGARA   Financial services employees worry their jobs are being increasingly upended by artificial intelligence, as an inquiry asks the government to urgently balance technological advancements and potential job displacements.

Jones flags drafting of Tranche 2 legislation

KARREN VERGARA   Assistant treasurer Stephen Jones said Tranche 2 of the Delivering Better Financial Outcomes (DBFO) reforms remains a priority before he bows out of politics but fell short of confirming when the draft bill will see the light of day.

Executive Appointments

Centaur goes self-licensed, appoints former dealer group head

ANDREW MCKEAN   Financial planning firm Centaur Financial Services has moved to its own AFSL and made a key hire in the process.

Institutional sales exec exits Ares Management

ELIZABETH FRY   James Fleiter, a member of the institutional sales team for Ares Management Australia, has left the alternative investment manager.

Superannuation

Super's operational infrastructure 'not quite right'

ELIZA BAVIN   The superannuation sector's operational infrastructure is cause for concern, according to a research report.

Senate calls to overhaul super fund boards

ELIZA BAVIN   The report, which calls for major reforms to board appointments, has been slammed as "rushed" and "unserious".

Technology

AustralianSuper welcomes AI tech competition

ELIZA BAVIN   As a major investor in Nvidia, AustralianSuper has welcomed the emergence of DeepSeek, despite wiping $1 trillion off the chip maker's market cap.

mFunds sparked ASX outage, $1m credit issued

KARREN VERGARA   The ASX said the outage from last month largely stemmed from the now-defunct mFunds and will subsequently credit participants $1 million to make amends.

Family Office

Local family office backs new venture to invest in climate tech

ANDREW MCKEAN   The family office of Daniel Besen has become an anchor investor in new venture capital firm Climate Tech Partners, investing in "innovative software and hardware companies" accelerating decarbonisation.

Binance Labs becomes a family office

KARREN VERGARA   Binance Labs has transformed into a family office known as YZi Labs in a bid to expand its investment focus and step away from blockchain-focused investments.