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Australia, UK partner to procure well-regulated financial markets
|Following its inaugural meeting in September 2025, the second UK-Australia Joint Financial Regulatory Forum took place this week, with Australia remaining vocal about placing greater emphasis on governance and asset valuation of private markets.
Count takes 30% stake in Brisbane advice firm
|Count has agreed to acquire a 30% stake in Brisbane-based accounting and financial advice firm Apiary Financial, continuing its push to expand its equity partnership network while reporting stronger first-quarter earnings.
Audit quality continues to fall short: ASIC
|The corporate regulator has called for improvements in audit quality and financial reporting after its latest surveillance found companies, including superannuation funds, are still not getting the fundamentals right.
ETFs entering 3.0 era: JPMAM
JPMAM believes thematic ETFs may become a thing of the past as actively managed ETFs become more prevalent.
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Expert Feed
When geopolitics becomes a portfolio risk
Geopolitics is back - again - and Australian investors can no longer treat it as distant background noise.
Does association membership still matter?
With all the changes the advice sector has experienced in recent years, such as regulatory reform and increased education and professional standards ...
Digital assets and where they stand in 2026
So far in 2026 digital assets have captured the headlines largely for the wrong reasons, but that doesn't tell the full story.
Rethinking default design in a changing market environment
The evolution underway in the US DC system highlights the value of periodically reassessing default design assumptions.
Featured Profile
Jacqueline Fernley
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
ARC POINT OCIO PTY LTD
ARC POINT OCIO PTY LTD
Jacqueline Fernley is a self-confessed nerd, a market animal and as of this year, her own boss. Riddhima Talwani writes.
The Financial Standard podcast Tune in each week as we discuss the latest developments in Australia's wealth management industry. |  |
It is time the Labor Party and their comrades in the Industry Super Funds network realised that the ball game has now changed and we have adults running the show who do not have particular ideological agendas. Opt in should never have been legislated as clients can leave a Planner when ever they choose to do so.
The inclusion of FDS for pre-1/7/2013 clients was added by stealth by shifty Bill when the legislation was released even though this had never been proposed in all original negotiations. All this did was add costs to the provision of Financial Planning Services with no benefit to the consumer.
I am writing as a Chartered Accountant who has been providing Financial Planning Services for nearly 27 years. I am sure I would have a better understanding of this profession than either Bernie Ripoll of David Whitely.
Bernie Ripoll is still out of touch with the Financial Services Industry and does not understand. Did not understand before and produced a report that was biased against advisers and planners whom he quite clearly detests and wants expunged.
This is why the ALP has no idea of where it is going. The next thing we will have is Ripoll endorsing the idea that Unions are free of corruption and scams and the at the earth is flat.
Surely the ALP can find someone better than Ripoll to be the shadow Minister.