Weekly Wrap: Commissions back on agenda

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The past couple of weeks have had a lot of news about the credit crisis and its negative impacts on markets. Clearly reading the mainstream papers there is still plenty of action in this space and the sub-prime market in the US.

Friday, August 17th 2007, 3:04PM

Today we report on what one of the bigger providers of CDO-backed products, NZ Funds, has experienced in this space. On Monday in depositrates.co.nz we will update you on some more of the listed vehicles too.

A story line, which we intend to develop some more, is the old issue of commissions. As I mention in today's Blog, there is lots happening in this space. In the mainstream media it is being fuelled by a so-called "Special Investigation", run by one of the Sunday papers. In the Blog some thoughts are outlined on commissions and I would welcome any feedback from readers on the subject.

Commission disclosure back on the agenda The age old debate about commissions seems to have raised its head again recently, and this time strongly. [more]

Another trend developing is for new managers to enter the market. HFA, a significant hedge fund manager in Australia, is now opening up shop in New Zealand.

KiwiSaver has had some attention in the past week too. Earlier we reported on a speech made by the Secretary of Treasury where he outlines Treasury's position on savings and how it got to the conclusion it did.

The speech has received mixed reaction with some suggesting that Treasury suddenly changed its view to suit government policy around KiwiSaver. Others say it makes a fascinating case study of the policy making process. We have now included the full speech and powerpoints to the article if you would like to read those too.

The finance company sector continues to be active and the latest news for some Bridgecorp investors is not particularly flash. The receivers confirmed yesterday what we all suspected. That is capital noteholders can expect to see none of their money back.

Our report earlier in the week updates you on current rate changes along with some news briefs to keep you up to speed with what's happening in this sector.

This week, the latest issue of ASSET hit the streets and that includes a look at the Bridgecorp collapse and asks where to now for finance companies. Full details of what's in this issue can be found here.

Insurance advisers haven't been forgotten in the news mix. We have plenty of relevant news in ASSET and on the site we ran a story late last week updating readers on what is happening in the health insurance market. This report includes some graphs showing trends and also shows the markets which have experienced growth. Today's story is all about the on-going share dealings at New Zealand owned life company Fidelity.

The other story, which is a development on a feature in ASSET, is how mortgage brokers are looking to sell more life insurance. The recently rebranded Ray White Financial Services, now known as Loan Market, made its intentions clear this week.

Two pages worth checking out are the Diary, as there are a number of new events listed here, and the People page, which this week is dominated by changes in the advisory area.