The Quality of Advice Review contains some very sensible recommendations with respect to financial advice in the superannuation fund setting. Nonetheless, section 3.2 of the Proposals Paper raises the issue of the possible expansion of the concept of intra-fund advice. The following quote is instructive: “Most (although not all) superannuation fund trustees have told us … Read more

The recent charges imposed on a (very) famous influencer in the US by the US Securities and Exchange Commission is informative to the current discussion and debate in Australia regarding the Quality of Advice Review. The charges (which were ultimately settled for a sum of $1.26 million and a 3-year embargo on promoting crypto asset … Read more

One of the very memorable catch phrases from the Animals’ song repertoire goes along the lines of “Oh Lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood.” These words could be applied, respectfully, to the proposed “Good Advice” duty – specifically, the central pivot which links “good advice” to the test of whether the advice would be … Read more

In August 2022, the Quality of Advice Review released its Proposals Paper setting out a range of proposals to improve the accessibility and affordability of financial advice. Our team has made a formal submission to the Quality of Advice Review. While we strongly support the majority of the proposals outlined in the Proposals Paper, there are … Read more

For some time now, the issue of whether a sales representative can cross-position different insurance policies or financial products through the mechanism of a multi-policy or multi-product discount has been somewhat of a vexed issue – to say the least. In this context, we are referring to a scenario where a client makes an enquiry … Read more

During the COVID-19 pandemic, a record number of first-time traders flocked to the market, which propelled financial influencers (‘finfluencers’) into ASIC’s spotlight and squarely placed them within ASIC’s enforcement remit. The rise of finfluencers is unsurprising in the social media and digital age. As financial services and financial product distribution become more challenging and complex … Read more

Alert to all industry and retail superannuation funds – compliance with the proposed retirement income covenant (RIC) faces two major regulatory roadblocks: personal advice and anti-hawking. There is an urgent need for regulatory relief or reform in relation to this. There are two major regulatory problems that are thrown up by the recently proposed RIC, to … Read more

This edition of our ‘FSR GPS’ (Guidelines, Principles and Strategies) series provides some insights on the requirement to report significant dealings to ASIC under the upcoming DDO regime, which is due to come into effect on 5 October 2021. Under the DDO regime, a product issuer has an obligation to report a ‘significant dealing’ to … Read more