Chris Dastoor

Despite the perception by advice practice leaders that hiring a professional year (PY) adviser offers more cons than pros, one adviser has argued there is a significant return on investment from bringing on an emerging adviser – even if they don’t stay with the business long term.

A company that made the Australian Financial Review list of “Fast 100” growth companies is on a list of names published by ASIC to warn consumers about lead generators. The regulator has launched a review into advice licensees using lead generation services in the aftermath of the $1 billion Shield and First Guardian collapse.

The Financial Advice Association Australia is among those also surprised by the sale of InterPrac Financial Planning to Conquest Investment Partners, noting similar concerns to Shield and First Guardian investors about the future of client remediation.

ASX-listed Count will acquire financial advice firm Oracle Group for $72.2 million, further expanding the national footprint of one of the country’s largest license owners. Count CEO Hugh Humphrey says the Oracle AFSL will be left behind and the firm’s 22 advisers will join Count’s employed advice channel.

CGT changes proposed in this year’s budget could lead to more high-pressure sales tactics that push people into SMSFs, according to the Financial Advice Association Australia. While the association welcomes superannuation being exempted from any changes, it could mean property in SMSFs becomes disproportionately attractive.

The Licensee Leadership Forum has been working on an AI governance due diligence program to develop best practice guidelines to lift industry standards, as some high-performing networks have leveraged AI to lift adviser output to serving over 200 clients.

Advice firms will need a 25 per cent increase in ongoing fees to sustain desirable shareholder returns, according to data and analysis from Peloton Partners. The findings come as the latest Adviser Ratings Landscape Report shows the average advice practice profit margin sits at 23.5 per cent.

SMSF property spruikers will see their business model shaken up as the government moves to end the ability for a trustee to borrow money for residential housing. The Greens secured an amendment to the government’s tax changes proposed in the May federal budget that would end the use of limited recourse borrowing arrangements for residential property.

Financial advice is positioned to avoid a “Kodak moment” and being made obsolete by AI and technology, as human-led interactions will continue to be a driving force in its proposition, the Professional Planner Licensee Summit heard. But while AI might be part of the model of the future, a panel also discussed whether a key model from the past, vertical integration, will still have a place.

The government says tax changes to discretionary trusts won’t impact 90 per cent of small businesses as it consults on reforms proposed in the May federal budget that will include rollover relief for those wanting to change structures. Treasurer Jim Chalmers says changes to the taxation of trust income will help fund income tax cuts for workers.