Regulatory & technical update

No hidden immunity idols. No immunity challenges. It’s time to vote. Whilst it may not be great TV, the 2022 Federal election has been called and in this reality series, there can be only one ultimate survivor. With no wealth related policies yet announced, in this podcast we look at what measures didn’t get enacted, and are in limbo, as a result of the calling of the Federal election.

Earlier this year Legislation giving effect to the Retirement Income Covenant passed the Parliament. The covenant will require trustees to have a retirement income strategy that outlines how they plan to assist their members in retirement.

ASIC recently released information concerning possible actions of influencers that could stray into the provision of advice. In this podcast, we look at ASIC comments and what it also means for authorised advisers.

Recently the Government finalised the Terms of Reference for the 2022 Quality of Advice Review, and announced who would be chairing the review. Whilst the included items in the Terms of Reference are important, so too are those areas specifically ruled out for recommendations. In this podcast we look at some of the important inclusions and exclusions and what this could mean.

As we celebrate International Women’s day, a day that recognises not only how far we have come toward gender equality, but also how far we have to go, it’s essential we consider how finances play a part in this journey toward equality and what role financial advisers can play in helping their female clients break the bias.

Using the downsizer contribution strategy can give clients a significant boost in their retirement savings. But meeting the right criteria is important as otherwise it can lead to excess contribution issues. In this podcast we discuss the relevant criteria for making a downsizer contributions to super and frequently asked questions from advisers on this topic.

Self-managed super fund (SMSFs) must meet numerous rules in order to benefit from the concessional tax treatment of superannuation. One of the most important of these is for an SMSF to satisfy the three residency tests, that is to be an 'Australian Superannuation Fund' at all times.

The 2022 Parliamentary sitting started with a big bang, with the passage of a number of superannuation measures announced in the 2021 Budget. In this podcast, we look at what the changes are and potential opportunities for clients.

Not because it's Valentine's Day, but because there were a number of question raised off the back of a recent BT Academy webinar on love and marriage and financial planning opportunities at that time of a client's life, this week's podcast focuses in on a number of the issues raised.

With a number of legislative and regulatory reforms, 2022 has the potential to shape as a watershed year for advice. In this podcast, we look at what some of these potential changes are and what they could mean.

Two consultation papers have just been released by Treasury around adviser education standards and the quality advice review to be undertaken next year. In this podcast we look at what is proposed under each of these processes.

Recently introduced requirements for directors to obtain a Director Identification Number creates important requirements for SMSFs and other corporate entities. In this podcast we explore some of these issues and the process to obtain a DIN.

Reviewing the most common questions from this weeks BT Academy Technical Webinar Series ‘Questions in review from 2021 to 2022'. Looking back on common questions for the year and looking into 2022.

With FASEA’s consultation on proposed changes to Standard 3 of the Code of Ethics underway, we look at the options proposed to see whether they deliver the certainty advisers are looking for.

This podcast addresses four interesting questions which were asked by advisers during and after the recent ‘Carry forward concessional contributions’ fortnightly webinar hosted by BT Academy.

This podcast addresses some important considerations for advisers in situations where their clients have become totally and permanently disabled, or terminally ill, in terms of possible courses of action with respect to their superannuation, both in the short and long term.

We discuss three recent developments that impact the world of financial advice and financial advising. These are the passage of the Better Advice Bill, the introduction of legislation around the 2021 Federal Budget superannuation announcements, and the current FASEA led consultation on Standard 3 of the FASEA Code of Ethics.

This podcast addresses four interesting questions which were asked by advisers during and after a recent ‘aged care’ fortnightly webinar hosted by BT Academy.

In this week’s podcast, we address five interesting questions which were asked by advisers during and after a recent ‘Pension Loans Scheme’ fortnightly webinar hosted by BT Academy.

This week, the Financial Services Council launched their White Paper on the Future of Advice which raises a number of areas for recommended reform to set financial advice up for the future and to help promote its value. IN this podcast, we discuss the Paper and a number of its reforms with Blake Briggs, Deputy CEO of the Financial Services Council.

Australia’s demographics are shifting, and our retirement trends are changing. In today’s podcast we are joined by Jeremy Cooper, Chairman of Retirement Income at Challenger and Richard Dinham, Head of Client Solutions at Fidelity to discuss what impact the DDO and the recently released exposure draft legislation on the retirement income covenant will have on the advice Financial Advisers provide to their clients.

When can an SMSF be classified as a wholesale client? What type of advice can be provided to an SMSF on a wholesale basis? Is it really worth it? In this week’s podcast, we explore these issues in more depth.

In what has been a comparatively quiet week for the financial planning sector, in this podcast we turn our mind to potential opportunities that the future may present, as well as a reminder on impending changes.

This podcast addresses some things to consider when making superannuation death benefit nominations, specifically whether to nominate an individual directly or to have benefits pass on via a person’s estate.