K: Financial and Insurance Services

Top pickers reveal their favourite stocks

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Original article by Sarah Turner
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 16-May-18

Fund managers attending the Future Generation Investment Forum in Sydney have identified their preferred Australian and international stocks. Regal Funds Management’s Philip King likes Qantas, saying it is the cheapest stock in the ASX 100. Mastermyne and Freedom Foods are the top picks for Ben Griffiths of Eley Griffiths Group, while McPherson’s is the preferred stock of Centennial Asset Management’s Matthew Kidman. Wilson Asset Management’s Catriona Burns and Magellan Financial Group’s Domenico Giuliano favour US-listed Sensata Technologies and Facebook respectively.

CORPORATES
REGAL FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 100 INDEX, MASTERMYNE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MYE, FREEDOM FOODS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FNP, ELEY GRIFFITHS GROUP PTY LTD, McPHERSON’S LIMITED – ASX MCP, CENTENNIAL ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, WILSON ASSET MANAGEMENT, MAGELLAN FINANCIAL GROUP LIMITED – ASX MFG, SENSATA TECHNOLOGIES INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, SANDON CAPITAL INVESTMENTS LIMITED – ASX SNC, SPICERS LIMITED – ASX SRS, COOPER INVESTORS PTY LTD, LIFESTYLE COMMUNITIES LIMITED – ASX LIC, TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATED, JETSTAR AIRLINES PTY LTD, QANTAS FREQUENT FLYER LIMITED

Bearish key reversal flags more falls ahead

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 24 : 16-May-18

The Australian sharemarket closed at a four-day low on 15 May, after falling just short of its highest level in 10 years. The bourse has gained 1.9 per cent so far in May, but recent history suggests that a further pullback is possible as it has shed an average of 4.3 per cent during May and June over the last decade. A number of factors could weigh on the market in coming days; most of the major banks are set to begin trading ex-dividend, while shares in oil producers are falling despite a rally in the crude oil price.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, CHICAGO BOARD OPTIONS EXCHANGE VOLATILITY INDEX, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Fourth bid for AMP class action

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Original article by Ben Butler
The Australian – Page: 19 : 15-May-18

Maurice Blackburn is the latest law firm to propose launching a class action against wealth manager AMP in response to the scandals exposed by the banking royal commission. Phi Finney McDonald and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan have filed class action lawsuits to date, while Slater & Gordon has also flagged possible legal action on behalf of AMP shareholders. Andrew Watson of Maurice Blackburn stresses factors other than the lowest commission rate will determine which class action is allowed to proceed.

CORPORATES
AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, MAURICE BLACKBURN PTY LTD, PHI FINNEY MCDONALD PTY LTD, QUINN EMANUEL URQUHART AND SULLIVAN LP, SLATER AND GORDON LIMITED – ASX SGH, INTERNATIONAL LITIGATION FUNDING PARTNERS INCORPORATED, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, IMF BENTHAM LIMITED – ASX IMF

Fears of big job losses from inquiry fallout

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 20 : 15-May-18

Automation has already put around 50,000 financial services jobs at risk, and job losses in the sector may increase in the wake of the banking royal commission. Sally Auld of JPMorgan says the loss of jobs as a result of the inquiry could be greater than those shed during the last financial crisis. Tommy Wu of IBISWorld notes that the banking sector’s revenue has fallen by over $A10 billion in the last five years, and it could fall even further as a result of the royal commission.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, IBISWORLD PTY LTD, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, RICE WARNER ACTUARIES PTY LTD, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

CommBank finance boss Jesudason jumps ship

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Original article by James Eyers, Jonathan Shapiro, Will Willitts
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 & 14 : 15-May-18

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has named Alan Docherty as its acting CFO following the sudden resignation of Rob Jesudason after less than a year in the role. Docherty is currently the CFO of the institutional banking and markets division, and he joined CBA in 2003. Jesudason’s departure for a role in Hong Kong is the latest setback for CEO Matt Comyn, with six key executives resigning since he succeeded Ian Narev. Jesudason has expressed interest in becoming CEO, but sources have indicated that he was not in contention.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, BLOCK.ONE, CREDIT SUISSE AG, JP MORGAN AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, BARCLAYS BANK PLC, GE CAPITAL CORPORATION, McKINSEY AND COMPANY

HBF exits policy ranking websites

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Original article by Sarah-Jane Tasker
The Australian – Page: 3 : 14-May-18

HBF has estimated that comparison websites received more than $A150m in commissions from private health insurers in 2016-17. HBF CEO John Van Der Wielen believes that the cost of using comparison websites is contributing to a rise in health insurance premiums. The not-for-profit fund will cease marketing its products via comparison websites. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s deputy chair Delia Rickard says many consumers may not be aware that health insurers pay commissions to attract new customers.

CORPORATES
HBF HEALTH LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, BUPA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, PRIVATE HEALTH INSURANCE INTERMEDIARIES ASSOCIATION INCORPORATED

Rally propels ASX towards 10-year highs

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Original article by Sarah Turner
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 14-May-18

Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 has gained about 6.2 per cent since the start of April, compared with a gain of about 3.3 per cent for the S&P 500. The local bourse is currently trading at around the 6,116-point level, and Shane Oliver of AMP Capital says it could reach 6,300 points by the end of 2018. Matthew Sherwood of Perpetual Investments is also upbeat about the outlook for local shares, noting that Australia is one of the few markets to have recorded an increase in earnings expectations.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, PERPETUAL INVESTMENTS, BLOOMBERG LP, DEUTSCHER AKTIEN INDEX, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD

Wilkins sorry as first strike pounds AMP

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Original article by Richard Gluyas
The Australian – Page: 19 & 23 : 11-May-18

AMP incurred a backlash from investors at its annual meeting on 10 May, with 61.5 per cent of votes cast rejecting its remuneration report. The financial services group could face a board spill in 2019 under the "two-strikes" regime. AMP director Andrew Harmos has retained his seat on the board, although 37.5 per cent of votes cast were opposed to his re-election. Meanwhile, acting executive chairman Mike Wilkins has apologised to shareholders for the "fees-for-no-service" scandal, and acknowledged that rebuilding trust and confidence in the AMP brand will take time.

CORPORATES
AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, CLAYTON UTZ, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Commonwealth Bank admits it broke law over fees

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Original article by Sarah Danckert, Clancy Yeates
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 3 : 11-May-18

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has issued a statement acknowledging that its financial planners had breached the Corporations Act by charging fees for services that were not provided. However, the bank has rejected several of the open findings of the senior counsel assisting the banking royal commission with regard to its financial planning division. Meanwhile, Westpac has rejected all of the open findings of the royal commission regarding its financial planning business.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, COUNT FINANCIAL LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH FINANCIAL PLANNING LIMITED, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, RI ADVICE GROUP PTY LTD, M3 FINANCIAL, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, DOVER FINANCIAL ADVISERS PTY LTD

AMP faces $2b class action

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Original article by Misa Han
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 10-May-18

AMP has declined to comment on a move by law firm Quinn Emanuel to launch a class action against the embattled financial services group. The class action is open to investors who bought AMP shares between 4 May 2013 and 18 April 2018. Several other law firms may also pursue class actions against AMP following the banking royal commission’s revelations that the group had charged fees for services that were not provided and had lied to the Australian Securities & Investments Commission.

CORPORATES
AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, QUINN EMANUEL URQUHART AND SULLIVAN LP, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, SLATER AND GORDON LIMITED – ASX SGH, PHI FINNEY McDONALD PTY LTD, SHINE LAWYERS