Editor's Choice
ASIC boasts $830m record civil penalties
|ASIC has scored a whopping $830 million in civil penalty orders in the last financial year alone, a Freedom of Information (FOI) request revealed.
Infinity AM wins SMID fund mandate
|Viridian Financial Group's Infinity Asset Management won a mandate to oversee a small to mid-capitalisation fund that was previously under the remit of Renaissance Asset Management.
New alternative investment firm lands in Sydney
|A pair of Remara directors, along with an iPartners private credit specialist, have joined forces to launch a new alternative investment firm, targeting an underserved segment across the private credit market.
New 'high-risk' derivatives on the rise
|An innovative financial product, known as perpetual futures contract (perps), are currently under the scope of the market regulator, spreading concerns that the "speculative" product may be unlawfully distributed towards retail investors.
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Featured Profile
Blake Briggs
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
FINANCIAL SERVICES COUNCIL
FINANCIAL SERVICES COUNCIL
Since becoming chief executive, Blake Briggs has renewed the Financial Services Council's influence, expanded the membership base, and strengthened its policy and advocacy credentials. Karren Vergara writes.
The merger does not magically create an independent group. It is just not owned by one of the big four banks.
In many ways these mergers create even more problems for the consumer as CEO's can talk about "maintaining independence" and "letting the adviser flourish", under a banner that looks no different to the genuine intermediaries.
And mergers and acquisition firms who are not sure if a firm is independent or not perhaps should not comment at all. No good for the reputation showing that lack of knowledge
Would love to see ASIC comment on the statements made by this group
In my view, independent advice is not what SFG currently offer anyway. The advisers within this group have very little flexibility at all and are almost forced to use their own in-house products. If anything there is less independence in this group than is offered by the big 4.