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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. |  |
I must state upfront that I am an ICAA member. This proposal shows a complete lack of understanding by the ICAA of the compliance responsibilities of being licensed. This goes back to the days when I first became a Financial Planner in 1987 which everyone was effectively having their own licence but via a licensed dealer.
Who is going to be responsible for advice given if every adviser has their own licence? How is this to be covered from a Professional Indemnity Insurance perspective?
Last time I checked, Accountants are not licensed to practice as accountants. They are granted Practicing Certificates from their relevant accounting body. Is the ICAA saying that every accountant in a practice holds a Tax Agents regsitration? I know that is not correct.
Come down off your ivory towers and talk to those who are actually involved in the Financial Planning Profession.