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Financial Planning

Count buys Evolution Advisers

COMPANY RELEASE  |  TUESDAY, 4 AUG 2009
Countplus has made its eleventh acquisition through a 25 per cent share purchase in planning firm, Evolution Advisers.

Planners lose staff but not for long

RUTH LIEW  |  TUESDAY, 4 AUG 2009
Nearly 40 per cent of financial planning businesses have lost staff in the last eight months, new research shows.

Hyperion targets retail market

COMPANY RELEASE  |  MONDAY, 3 AUG 2009
Hyperion Asset Management has selected one of the firm's owners, Pinnacle Investment Management, as its retail distributor.

AMP clients buy more insurance

RUTH LIEW  |  MONDAY, 3 AUG 2009
Planners have found that many of their clients are more inclined to accept insurance advice and take new or additional cover following the global financial crisis, said Michael Guggenheimer, managing director of AMP Financial Planning.

Mercer's self employed advice strategy falls short

MICHAEL HOBBS  |  FRIDAY, 31 JUL 2009
Mercer Wealth Solutions' strategy to sign self-employed financial planning practices has netted only two practices in a year, well short of the expected 12 practices flagged last year.

Adviser education bar too low

RUTH LIEW  |  FRIDAY, 31 JUL 2009
Qualifying to become an adviser is far too easy and the bar should be raised higher, especially for young hopefuls looking to enter the industry, said a panel of advisers.

S&P withdraws Ashton-Paulson rating

MICHAEL HOBBS  |  THURSDAY, 30 JUL 2009
Standard & Poor's has withdrawn the 'two stars' rating on the Ashton-Paulson hedge funds after rating the products just over a week ago.

Communication breakdown advisers failure

RUTH LIEW  |  THURSDAY, 30 JUL 2009
One of the biggest downfalls of the financial planning industry is its inability to communicate effectively the value of the profession, said a key industry association.

PI insurers face $300m in claims

RUTH LIEW  |  THURSDAY, 30 JUL 2009
Advisers could face tougher hurdles to get professional indemnity cover as insurers expect a $300 million claims bill in the next three years resulting from collapses such as Storm Financial, said an industry expert.

Capstone FP eyes more practices

MICHAEL HOBBS  |  TUESDAY, 28 JUL 2009
Capstone Financial Planning is using the dealer group's independent label to attract more financial planning practices to its ranks - with over 10 practices expected to join in the next 12 months.