PDSessions - What's the latest?
News in review
Recent economic data has painted a mixed picture for the Australian economy, with consumer sentiment easing and manufacturing activity expanding slightly. Internationally, Spain’s been forced to wield the axe on spending after discovering that its finances are worse than expected, while the German and US economies continue to show resilience. In other news, the Federal Government has imposed restrictions on intra-fund advice, while ASIC has put 30 licensees under the spotlight.
PDPlus: Using social media to drive business
Social media websites have grown dramatically in popularity in recent years. With a well-crafted strategy and appropriate risk protocols in place, social media platforms can add value for clients while lowering licensees’ and advisers’ business costs. However, experts warn that embracing the world of social media needs to be done carefully, as a poorly executed strategy could result in time wasting and in some cases, reputational damage. This article defines social media, identifies the primary channels appropriate for business purposes, explains how advisers should undertake developing a social media presence, discusses some of the potential applications for social media within an adviser’s business, and outline risks arising from the use of social media and the importance of implementing an appropriate policy governing its use.
Getting started in estate planning
Australia’s rapidly ageing population is making estate planning an increasingly significant facet of a comprehensive financial plan, and presents a lucrative business opportunity for financial advisers seeking to carve out a niche in this area. The adviser plays a key role for the client when it comes to modern estate planning. Including this advice component in a business model involves partnering and maintaining ongoing relationships with associated professionals, understanding the relevance of estate planning documents, and ensuring extensive knowledge is acquired on the more technical issues associated with estate planning.
PDPlus: SMSFs: transitioning from accumulation to pension
As Australia’s population ages, increasing numbers of individuals with a self managed fund (SMSF) will be seeking a pension from their fund. Transitioning an SMSF member’s super account from the accumulation phase and setting them up with a pension is not a simple task and raises unique and specific issues that trustees and advisers need to consider in order to manage the process effectively. This article identifies the key steps to transfer an SMSF account from accumulation to pension phase, outlines some of the principal issues and concerns that can arise during transition, explains the impact of death on a sole-member SMSF if the member is in receipt of a pension, and describes the key elements of common scenarios faced by SMSF trustees when members are in pension phase.
Compliance for small AFS licensees
All Australian financial services (AFS) licensees are expected to meet a broad range of compliance obligations, such as managing conflicts of interest and ensuring that their authorised representatives are adequately trained. However, for small AFS licensees, fulfilling these requirements can potentially be more challenging, given they tend to have fewer resources than large AFS licensees. This article summarises the key compliance obligations for smaller AFS licensees, discusses the benefits and costs of maintaining compliance for small licensees, outlines the issues/indicators most watched by ASIC for non-compliance and assesses the potential implications of breaches in compliance for smaller AFS licensees.