This heading is THE question being asked within the depths of the Financial Markets Authority's guidance note on the Sale and Distribution of KiwiSaver. And, it does appear that RFAs may be able to advise those going into KiwiSaver after all...

From 6 July, New Zealand financial advisers will be able to provide services to clients based in Australia, without holding an Australian Financial Services License, under a mutual recognition arrangement just announced by the regulators in both countries. But the devil's in the detail, warns one industry leader...

With global equities failing to impress over the past decade, real money might be better made closer to home, according to Andrew Bascand, managing director and portfolio manager with Harbour Asset Management. Bascand gave financialalert an insight into what he'll be speaking about at next month's IFA 2012 Conference.

FMA's KiwiSaver sales guidance note "a defining piece of guidance". Advisers unable to gain new clients under proposed Financial Markets Conduct Bill. AdviceFirst appoints new chairman. FSC retirement savings report "overlooks a critical area".

PortfolioConstruction Forum Symposium is a unique professional development program designed and presented specifically for NZ practitioners who focus on giving quality investment advice. The two-day program featured leading local and international investment professionals presenting on contemporary and emerging portfolio construction issues around the three pillars for building better quality investor portfolios - markets, strategies and investing.

It's one thing to help a client plan for retirement, but quite another to plan a retirement fund for a nation. Adrian Orr, CEO of the New Zealand Superannuation Fund, gave financialalert a sneak preview of the issues he'll be covering when he opens next month's IFA 2012 Conference...

This Academy Seminar debates the following three topics in a Socratic learning environment: Better the devil you know; Demystifying quantitative equity investing; and, Investment Fables IV - Growth.

For a valuation driven rally in risk markets to be sustained for anything more than a week or so, the global credit system has to revive. This six point plan could achieve that...

A usual criticism of modelling tools is the assumption that returns are normally distributed. But black swans seem to be a short-term phenomenon...

Overcoming the limitations of financial theory and the biases of its practitioners is difficult but not impossible - the financial equivalent of the Hippocratic oath may help...

The debate around active versus passive managed equity funds provoked lively discussion at last month's PortfolioConstruction Forum Symposium in Auckland. For this follow up feature, financialalert asked proponents of both approaches why they choose the strategy they do. One thing they all had in common is a strong belief in their position...

In the past, trust was built via face-to-face meetings with clients or prospects. However, in today's busy world with low cost and easy access to technology, things have changed. Trust can now be built from afar...

More than a year after the proposed fees and levies for financial advisers were announced, advisers finally have clarity about how much they'll have to pay for being regulated. But the end outcome came as a surprise to industry leaders.

There are really only two words to discuss - Greece and Spain - and the implications for Australian cash rates, bond yields and equity markets - and, of course, portfolios.

Building debt portfolios used to be easy. But it’s much harder now. These days, the debt side of portfolios must be absolutely secure and should designed as three buckets...

Britannia launches new compliant QROPS - open to all advisers. Call to ban publication of gross returns for KiwiSaver funds. Annual declaration time for AFAs. Where your clients income tax ends up...

In early May 2012, 120 portfolio construction practitioners - 90% of them AFAs - gathered in Auckland for the two-day PortfolioConstruction Forum Symposium featured leading local and international investment professionals presenting on contemporary and emerging portfolio construction issues. financialalert asked delegates to send in their key takeouts from the two-day program...

In this Workshop, two full-time research professionals demonstrated how they would design a portfolio for a real investor, based on a real world portfolio construction case study submitted by one of the Symposium delegates...

MPT has been misapplied for the past 60 years. In this Critical Issues Forum, Michael Kitces argued that markets are not efficient, but they are adaptive - so appropriate use of MPT requires forward-looking projections. This requires more work to apply effectively, but can lead to portfolios that are more efficient and give better risk/return trade-offs.

Have your 2012 revenue resolutions gone by the wayside? If so, the year is far from over - consider picking one of three simple strategies identified in a recent research study which differentiated financial planning firms that outperform...