News
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Stock Pickers Flame Out Again
Read more: Stock Pickers Flame Out AgainIt’s always fun when investment gurus or media talking heads put together a list of their top investments to buy. History has shown no one, from professional investment manager to average Joe, can consistently outperform the market. Yet despite the litany of evidence against stock picking, many in the media are still prepared to chance their arm – often hoping the rest of us will forget how their last load of picks turned out. Unfortunately for the gurus, there are plenty of pedants (like ourselves) out there, who continue to collate their lists and periodically check in on them. It…
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Measuring the ASX 200
Read more: Measuring the ASX 200The ASX 200 – it’s often referenced, but few of us really know what’s behind that number we’re quoted on the nightly news. So get ready for some useful information because you’re about to find out what the ASX 200 is really made up of! If you hold any share fund this will also be a good illustration of what a share fund can be comprised of because most funds are often based on a particular index or they attempt to mimic the performance of an index. The most basic thing to understand is the ASX 200 represents the largest…
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Adviser Trust a Long Way to Go Everywhere
Read more: Adviser Trust a Long Way to Go EverywhereIt appears it’s not just Australia who has a problem with financial advisers at big financial institutions and banks. A new US study into misconduct in financial advice has shown misconduct is much more prominent than those seeking financial advice would ever want it to be. Done over ten years from 2005-2015, the study by researchers from the University of Chicago and the University of Minnesota looked at publicly available data on BrokerCheck relating to the 1.2 million advisers registered during the time period. BrockerCheck is an open database of financial professionals run by FINRA, a US financial industry regulatory…
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Do Politics Matter To Investment Returns?
Read more: Do Politics Matter To Investment Returns?If you’ve spent any of your time listening to talkback radio or reading discussions online you’ll know wading into politics can be a dangerous game. Hot-headed people escalate arguments at the drop of a hat over the fortunes or criticism of their side. So when politicians wade into our own industry or our areas of expertise we tend to keep our commentary muted. Except to say despite their posturing, neither side knows much about regulating financial planning, and like everyone else who doesn’t own a crystal ball, politicians know absolutely nothing about economic & investment forecasting. For the most part,…
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CommInsure Scandal Shows the Value of Advice
Read more: CommInsure Scandal Shows the Value of AdviceAnother year and we’re seeing another scandal at one of the big banks. This time it’s Commonwealth Bank. Or we should say Commonwealth Bank are at it again, given their scandal plagued history. This time their CommInsure arm has been exposed through an investigation by 4 Corners and Fairfax reporter Adele Ferguson. The investigation uncovered CommInsure doctors being pressured to change assessments of clients to save money, to delay payments to terminally ill customers and refusing to honour legitimate claims. These were issues across all types of policies with some income protection customers off work without any income for long…
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