FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY – AUSTRALIA

Perpetual takes $1.6 billion hit

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Original article by Ruth Liew, Vanessa Desloires
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 22 : 16-Jul-15

Listed wealth manager Perpetual has advised that its funds under management fell from $A34.7bn to $A30.2bn in the June 2015 quarter. Equities accounted for the bulk of the $A1.6bn worth of net outflows for the quarter. The group had reported net inflows for each of the previous seven quarters. CEO Geoff Lloyd has refuted suggestions that the rise in outflows is linked to the resignation of Matt Williams as head of equities. Perpetual shares closed 6.6 per cent lower at $A45.60 on 15 July.

CORPORATES
PERPETUAL LIMITED – ASX PPT

Bell Financial Group rings in strong first half

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 10-Jul-15

Australian-listed Bell Financial Group has posted an $A8m consolidated unaudited profit for the first six months of 2015. This was 300 per cent higher than its result for the same period in 2014. Group revenue was 18 per cent higher, with equity capital markets and equities execution revenue up 37 per cent and 16 per cent respectively. The group’s shares closed 11.6 per cent higher at $A0.48 on 9 July.

CORPORATES
BELL FINANCIAL GROUP LIMITED – ASX BFG, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, CHI-X AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BELL DIRECT

Most seek advice when switching superannuation provider but gaps remain

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 9-Jul-15

A new Roy Morgan Research report, "Superannuation and Wealth Management in Australia", examines all aspects of consumer financial behaviour, including extensive coverage of super. It shows that 72 per cent of Australians aged 14+ who switched super provider in the year to December 2014 sought some sort of advice when doing so, compared with 68.8 per cent in 2010. The number of people who received such advice from financial planners/advisers has risen from 20.5 per cent to 29.9 per cent during the period. Likewise, the number of people who went directly to a financial institution for advice has risen from six per cent to 9.3 per cent.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

IOOF pays out compensation to 57 clients

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Original article by Adele Ferguson, Sarah Danckert
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 : 7-Jul-15

IOOF CEO Chris Kelaher will appear before a Senate committee on 7 July 2015 to answer questions over allegations of misconduct at the financial services group. Meanwhile, IOOF has indicated that 57 clients have been paid a total of $A2.8m in compensation since mid-2013, after lodging complaints about its financial planners. A number of IOOF’s authorised financial planners have also been banned from working in the sector during the last decade.

CORPORATES
IOOF HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX IFL, AUSTRALIAN WEALTH MANAGEMENT LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, CONSULTUM FINANCIAL ADVISERS PTY LTD, MFS PREMIUM INCOME FUND, MY ADVISER PTY LTD, BRIDGES FINANCIAL SERVICES PTY LTD, PLAN B FINANCIAL SERVICES LIMITED, LONSDALE FINANCIAL GROUP LIMITED, ORD MINNETT GROUP LIMITED, THE WEALTH MANAGERS

Westpac buys stake in payments start-up

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 25-Jun-15

PromisePay has raised $US2m ($A2.6m) in seed funding from several venture capital funds, including the Westpac-owned Reinventure Group. PromisePay was founded in 2014 and offers a payment platform for online marketplaces such as Jobstream and Flippa. PromisePay forecasts strong growth in revenue in 2015-16. Reinventure has previously invested in SocietyOne, Nabo and Zetaris.

CORPORATES
PROMISEPAY, REINVENTURE GROUP PTY LTD, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, JOBSTREAM, FLIPPA.COM PTY LTD, SOCIETYONE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NABO COMMUNITY, ZETARIS PTY LTD, RAMPERSAND HOLDINGS PTY LTD, CULTIVATION CAPITAL, 99DESIGNS PTY LTD, SQUARE, SIXTHIRTY, KIMA VENTURES, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, ERICSSON AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FUJITSU AUSTRALIA LIMITED, STANDARD CHARTERED BANK PLC, BRAINTREE LABORATORIES INCORPORATED, UBER TECHNOLOGIES INCORPORATED, AIRBNB INCORPORATED, EBAY INCORPORATED, CRAIGSLIST, GUMTREE.COM AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CARSALES.COM LIMITED – ASX CAR

Credit card rates up despite cash rate drop

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Original article by Clancy Yeates
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 24-Jun-15

Data from the Reserve Bank of Australia shows that the average credit card interest rate has risen to 19.75 per cent since the currency monetary policy easing cycle began in 2011. The cash rate has fallen to just two per cent over the same period. MWE Consulting’s Mike Ebstein attributes this to the fact that the proportion of credit card debt that is accruing interest has fallen from 73.7 per cent to just 65.6 per cent, with more consumers opting to pay their entire credit card debt each month.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, MWE CONSULTING PTY LTD, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, CONSUMER ACTION LAW CENTRE

Trade engagement push with Japan

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 9-Jun-15

Australia’s Assistant Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is visiting Japan with a delegation of financial services industry executives. Frydenberg will address a business lunch on 9 June 2015, and will argue that financial services groups in both nations should capitalise on the Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement. He says the financial services industries in both countries can benefit from each other’s expertise.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, FINANCIAL SERVICES COUNCIL, PERPETUAL LIMITED – ASX PPT, MACQUARIE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED, MLC LIMITED, JAPAN. OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, BANK OF JAPAN, NIKKO ASSET MANAGEMENT GROUP, TYNDALL INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED, THE DAI-ICHI MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED, TAL LIMITED, MITSUBISHI UFJ FINANCIAL GROUP INCORPORATED, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, NIPPON LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Fortnum drops commissions for life advice

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Original article by Ruth Liew
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 18-May-15

Fortnum Financial Advisers will abolish upfront commissions on the sale of life insurance policies from 1 July 2015. Its financial planners will instead use either a fee-for-service or hybrid commission model, and executive chairman Ray Miles says there was widespread support for the change among its advisors. Centrepoint Alliance and AMP are among the other groups that have abolished upfront commissions.

CORPORATES
FORTNUM FINANCIAL ADVISERS PTY LTD, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, CENTREPOINT ALLIANCE LIMITED – ASX CAF

Pioneer Credit to launch ‘no-frills’ card

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Original article by Sally Rose
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 23-Mar-15

Australian-listed Pioneer Credit will begin offering its own branded credit card later in 2015. The group will team up with an as-yet unnamed regional lender to launch the credit card, which will have a credit limit of between $A2,000 and $A3,000. CEO Keith John says the company eventually aims to offer personal and home loans. Its shares closed at $A1.96 on 20 March 2015

CORPORATES
PIONEER CREDIT LIMITED – ASX PNC

Symond calls for ban on interest-only

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Original article by Shaun Drummond
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 17-Mar-15

Australian businessman John Symond says residential property buyers who intend to be owner-occupiers should be prohibited from taken out interest-only loans. There has been strong growth in interest-only mortgage loans in recent years, particularly to property investors. Symond, who is the chairman of Aussie Home Loans, argues that property investors tend to be a lower risk than owner-occupiers

CORPORATES
AUSSIE HOME LOANS LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, MEMBERS EQUITY BANK PTY LTD, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA