The biggest myth that investors believe about China is that its economy is primarily driven by exports. Two charts debunk this misconception...

How ironic that the former safe havens of bonds and income-oriented equities now stand accused of being 'crowded trades' - the new bubbles...

PortfolioConstruction Forum asked the fund research houses - should gold be a part of most investors’ portfolios?

The average active Australian equity manager aims to deliver 3% to 4% alpha per year - so it's quite out of the ordinary for a manager to target 8% alpha pa...

Regulation has forever changed the way advisers and their businesses operate - but has it changed the marketplace for advice? In the first of this two-part feature, financialalert spoke with several practices about how they've adapted to the new reality, what effects regulation has had on their bottom line, and where clients are coming from these days...

Recent research suggests financial planning firms with revenue-based incentives for their staff nearly tripled their revenue growth compared to firms with merit-based bonuses. Your staff may impact the planning firm's revenue far more than you realise - here are six ways they absolutely impact the revenue of your firm...

If you're not excited about the work you do, you can't expect your team and your clients to be. Here are three different approaches that can help you restore your energy and excitement level...

This Academy Seminar debates the following three topics in a Socratic learning environment: Investment fables III - Value; What does financial success look like in retirement; and, Turning micro China observations into macro insights.

HMRC knocks 41 New Zealand QROPS off its list. Planning practices worth 2-3 times recurring revenue. Call to ditch KiwiSaver defaults. NZ and Australian corporate defaults fall. Advisers using social media. FMA does better second time around on disclosure guidance.

Is gold a good means of diversification? Is it a hedge against inflation and currency depreciation? Or is the last decade an anomaly?

Mssrs Henry, Murray and Tanner are successful in their fields. But none has a background in financial planning or investment management. It shows.

Despite the decision by the US Fed to postpone another round of quantitative easing, two questions remain unanswered as to the appropriateness of QE...

Key themes playing out in the market at present include the ECB's LTRO, ongoing recovery in the USA, the rise of the Eastern consumer and a secular move to e-commerce and electronic payments...

Last week, I visited Shanghai and Beijing. The most intriguing insight relates to the longer term sustainability of China’s economic growth model.

Advisers could grow their client bases much more quickly if they could eliminate the bad habit of asking their clients for referrals...

In this second feature in our series, financialalert spoke with a major fixed income provider, an Authorised Financial Adviser assessor, various AFAs and our own publisher about how advisers should consider the use of debt in portfolios...

SFO launches further investigation into NZF Finance; Home loan affordability near its best in 7 years; NZACU partners with Fisher Funds; Quick check formula for retirement savings; and Kiwis' net wealth increasing...

Geoff Davey has an international reputation as a risk tolerance expert. He discusses the role of risk tolerance and where regulation may be headed.

Woody is one of the world's leading economic thinkers. He view is that China is the worst case of currency manipulation in history.

The way investment advisers think about debt within portfolios has changed over recent years given the demise of finance companies and of the ING CDO/CLO fund failures. In the first of a two-part feature, financialalert asked advisers and product providers what debt instruments should feature in portfolios, and what role they should play...