Financial Planning FOFA tranche contains unintended consequences. The second tranche of the Government’s Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) legislation has received a very mixed reception from Australia’s major financial services organisations, with the Financial Services Council (FSC) suggesting the best interests test may prove unworkable and carry unintended consequences. Read full article Shorten introduces remuneration amendements. The second tranche of FOFA contains a number of additional measures regarding asset-based fees, volume-based shelf-space fees, and grandfathering. Read full article Superannuation Thumbs up for super guarantee. Financial planning and superannuation industry bodies have welcomed the Superannuation Guarantee (SG) Bill’s passage through Parliament. Read full article Low-cost products defy Industry Super Network campaign. Low-cost products introduced over the past 12 months by major providers such as Colonial First State, BT and AMP may have served to undermine the assumptions and disclaimers underpinning the Industry Super Network’s (ISN’s) ‘compare the pair’ advertising campaign.Read full article Regulatory ASIC flags more surveillance next year. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has flagged that it intends undertaking a surveillance project around Residential Mortgage Backed Securities (RMBS) disclosure standards next year. Read full article APRA getting tougher on securitisation rules. The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has warned Australian banks, insurance companies and superannuation funds that it has become "considerably less tolerant" of their use of securitisation transactions. Read full article Funds Management Large-cap Australian share funds the least active in the world. Large-cap Australian share funds are among the least active in the world when compared to other single-country and international share funds. Read full article Investors turn to multi-asset funds. Dissatisfaction with the performance of traditional managed funds and the resulting criticism may see the rise of multi-asset solutions.Read full article Investments Investors constrained by Australian instos. Australia’s wealth management institutions do not cater for investors who want to take a position on whether the global economy is about to enter an inflationary or a deflationary stage, according to FRM chief executive Richard Keary.Read full article Dividends not always a recipe for success. Despite the current clamour for high yielding stocks in a sluggish market, big dividend yields aren’t always a recipe for investment success according to Goldman Sachs Australia’s head of Australian equities Dion Hershan. Read full article The Markets GFC II on its way: Norris. Outgoing Commonwealth Bank chief executive Ralph Norris has warned that the European debt crisis has entered a dangerous phase, likening the current turmoil to the global financial crisis of three years ago. Read full article Gold slide could attract buyers. Gold may gain in London on speculation lower prices are attracting physical buyers and as investors seek a protection of wealth from Europe's debt crisis. Read full article