Financial Planning Planner exits, consolidation to rise: FSC. Australia's financial advisory and superannuation sector is expected to experience further upheaval in the next 12 months, with the potential for planner departures and super fund consolidation increasing, according to an industry chief. Read more from Investor Daily SMSF trustees want advice on strategy, not products. Self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) trustees find it "very challenging" to find good professional advice, and nearly half of them believe financial planners are out to sell products to benefit themselves, according to the latest SMSF Professionals' Association (SPAA) research. Read more from Money Management Superannuation Superannuation member statements need less focus on past performance. Short term reporting and past performance of the future benefits of a superannuation fund encourages unnecessary knee-jerk reactions from members, according to a new white paper from software provider Provisio Technologies. Read more from Money Management Pricing competition risks net returns from MySuper: FSC. Industry fund dominance of simple, low-cost superannuation will be aggressively challenged by 'white hot' pricing competition that risks an inadequate focus on returns, according to Financial Services Council chief executive, John Brogden. Read more from Financial Standard Regulatory 'World leaders in financial-advice red tape': Cormann. The absence of a comprehensive regulatory impact statement remains a stumbling block for the government’s Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) legislation, according to the Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR). Read more from Professional Planner ASIC to take hard line on deliberately misleading ads. ASIC is set to clamp down on misleading advertisments for financial products and services as part of its continued shake up of the financial services system. Read more from Financial Standard Accounting Licence changes could spur planner opportunities.Financial planners should take advantage of the opportunities posed by the changes in licensing regime following the removal of the accountants' exemption, a panel of self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) executives said. Read more from Investor Daily Superannuation roundtable must be wary of impacts. The Federal Government needs to consider what impact any changes to Australia's superannuation regime will have on various sectors of the community, according to Institute of Chartered Accountants' superannuation specialist Liz Westover. Read more from Money Management Insurance Call for tailored approach to group insurance. Superannuation funds will have to look at tailoring their life insurance offering rather than using a “one size fits all” approach, according to Rice Warner director Richard Weatherhead. Read more from Insurance News Disasters have hit us hard: Wesfarmers' Richard Goyder. Wesfarmers' insurance arm has suffered a 67 per cent drop in earnings for the December half as expenses from the high frequency of natural disasters and breaches of its catastrophe allowance ravaged the division. Read more from The Australian Funds management Mortgage funds on the way back? An easing-off of term deposit rates, reduced redemption pressure and a shift to fixed-term redemptions only could make 2012 an improved year for the battered mortgage fund sector, according to property researchers SQM. Read more from Money Management ETF sector kicks off 2012 with strong inflows. The Australian exchange-traded fund (ETF) market saw net inflows of $31 million in January, after experiencing net redemptions in December, according to BetaShares. Read more from Money Management Investments Investors should look at absolute return. Investors should adopt a risk-based approach to their portfolio construction in order to safeguard against continued volatility in 2012, global fund manager Standard Life Investments said. Read more from Investor Daily Smart investors buy productive assets: Buffett. Celebrity investor Warren Buffett has reminded investors that they and their clients only make money if they buy assets that go up in value and avoid assets that don't. Read more from Financial Standard Markets Expect lower growth: Westpac chief Kelly warns of seismic shift in banking. Westpac is reshaping its business to 'suit the times', and Australia should expect a lower growth environment for some time to come, Westpac's chief executive said. Read more from Investor Daily Get it wrong and you are in a world of hurt’: Zurich. The UBS trading scandal last September was a stark reminder that some of the basic tenets of running a large global business are timeless. In this case risk management and appropriate incentives probably deserved a rethink. Read more from Professional Planner