Financial Standard

Record number of adviser graduates: Kaplan

ANDREW MCKEAN   Kaplan Professional announced a record number of financial advisers have graduated from postgraduate financial planning qualifications in 2020 and 2021.

Clime acquires private wealth firm

JAMIE WILLIAMSON   Clime Investment Management has acquired a Melbourne wealth management business for $7 million.

Tesla axed from the S&P 500 ESG index

ANDREW MCKEAN   Tesla has been booted from the S&P 500 ESG index due to its low S&P Dow Jones Indices (DJI) ESG score.

Barclays increases stake in Barrenjoey

JAMIE WILLIAMSON   Barclays has almost doubled its interest in Barrenjoey, providing additional capital to assist with the creation of fixed income derivatives and equity financing platforms.

Risk inflows hit $17.6bn last year: Analysis

JAMIE WILLIAMSON   Risk inflows grew 5.5% in 2021, with MetLife, NobleOak and QInsure seeing the greatest growth.

MLC Life Insurance joins forces with Insignia Financial

ANDREW MCKEAN   MLC Life Insurance has partnered with Insignia Financial to launch a digital claims service.

SMSF establishments on the rise

ELIZABETH MCARTHUR   New research shows that the pandemic and inflation concerns have not blunted the enthusiasm of Australians for setting up self-managed super funds.

SMSFA collaborates with APRA on rollover improvements

ANDREW MCKEAN   The SMSF sector has been plagued with delays when rolling over funds from APRA regulated funds to SMSFs, so the industry body is working with the regulator with the hope of improving processes.

Yellen forebodes stagflation risks

ANDREW MCKEAN   In Bonn, Germany, US secretary of the treasury Janet Yellen has called the global economic outlook challenging and uncertain; stagflation effects have depressed output and spending, she added.

US inflation wavers near a 40-year high

ANDREW MCKEAN   The US inflation rate has fallen to 8.3%, but CPI continues to flirt with catastrophic 40-year highs.

Allianz subsidiary, former portfolio managers charged over massive fraud

JAMIE WILLIAMSON   Allianz Global Investors and three of its former portfolio managers have been charged by the US regulator over a multi-billion-dollar securities fraud sold to pension funds that went on for more than four years.

Former adviser sentenced over dishonesty

JAMIE WILLIAMSON   A former financial adviser will serve a three-year correctional order, including home detention, for providing fabricated evidence as part of an ASIC investigation.

Challenger restructures for growth

JAMIE WILLIAMSON   Challenger is restructuring as part of a broader strategy to reach more customers, in a plan that will see the departure of the current chief executive of its life division.

Foresters appoints chief risk officer

ANDREW MCKEAN   Foresters Financial has appointed Greg Hanigan as chief risk officer.

Dump annual super contributions cap: CA ANZ

JAMIE WILLIAMSON   Ahead of this weekend's election, the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ) wants both major political parties to commit to dumping the annual superannuation contribution cap for the benefit of women.

Super home buyer scheme fails to move the needle

ANDREW MCKEAN   At first glance, the government's superannuation plan for homebuyers seemed a compelling proposition, but concrete analysis has revealed that at best it's only a marginal measure.

Westpac architects new institutional banking platform

ANDREW MCKEAN   Westpac has begun work on a new transactional platform for institutional clients, using UK technology provider 10x Banking to provide the core technology.

ASIC outlines cybersecurity expectations

JAMIE WILLIAMSON   Following on from RI Advice's Federal Court loss, the corporate regulator has laid out its expectations of licensees when it comes to cybersecurity.

More UHNWIs than ever: Report

CHLOE WALKER   The number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals worldwide climbed by almost 10% last year despite the ongoing pandemic, new Knight Frank research shows.

Coterie invests in wealth platform

KARREN VERGARA   Coterie Capital has invested in a wealth management platform that has grown to $10 billion in funds under administration.