News Round Up: April 4

OnePath becomes IFA sponsor; Making other professions aware; AMP finally secures AXA; Banking Ombudsman welcomes new legislation; fi360 goes to the Pacific.

Sunday, April 3rd 2011, 4:45PM

OnePath signs up as IFA Partner
OnePath has signed on as the latest Premier Business Partner of the Institute of Financial Advisers (IFA).

The arrangement will see OnePath become a major sponsor of the IFA Conference in Wellington and provide its members with ongoing professional development support.

IFA chief executive Peter Lee said OnePath had always been a consistent supporter of the Institute and its members.

The agreement was also welcomed by the OnePath head of advisory, Trisha Edmonds.

"We're delighted to continue our commitment to the IFA and develop our relationship with financial advisers through this major sponsorship."

"OnePath has a long history of supporting the growth and development of financial advisors and we've been actively assisting the IFA's efforts to ensure advisers are recognised as professional practitioners," she said.

Lee said that for IFA, their Premier/Professional Business Partnerships are more than just sponsorship deals, with OnePath able to provide access to its international knowledge and expertise to help members' professional development.

Making other professions aware

The Institute of Financial Advisers (IFA) Financial Awareness Week is scheduled for August 15-19 and aims to build relationships between advisers and other professionals such as lawyers and accountants.

"The idea is to try to raise the awareness amongst the public but also of other professions of the value of good advice," said IFA chief executive Peter Lee.

Lee said that as ‘key influencers' of their clients, both lawyers and accountants - and their clients - could benefit from closer engagement with the adviser community.

AMP finally secures AXA takeover
AMP completed its takeover of AXA last week when the Supreme Court of Victoria approved the A$14 billion deal.

The takeover makes AMP the No.1 in New Zealand and Australia for financial advice, retail superannuation and individual risk insurance, with A$103 billion in assets under management.

"It's an opportunity for us to create something very special and shape the future of the industry if we get it right," said AMP chief executive Craig Dunn.

"We have to retain the best talent in both businesses and ensure there's no disruptions in service to financial planners, customers and clients."

Banking Ombudsman welcomes new legislation
Banking Ombudsman Deborah Battell has welcomed the Financial Service Providers (Registration and Dispute Resolution) Act, which came into effect on April 1.

She said the new legislation will give consumers of a wider range of financial services access to dispute resolution services.

In the wake of the new legislation, the Banking Ombudsman's services have been expanded to cover customers of most building societies, the two largest credit unions, some finance companies and a range of bank subsidiaries.

fi360 Pacific headquartered in Tauranga
Fiduciary360, the organisation for fiduciary education, investment analytics and support services for financial professionals, has announced the launch of fi360 Pacific.

fi360 Pacific will become the exclusive distributor of fi360's Accredited Investment Fiduciary Designation Training and Toolkit for Advisers software in the Pacific region, based in Tauranga and led by former fi360 Australasia managing director Ross Fowler.

"The timing of this initiative couldn't be better as a result of new legislation in Australia and New Zealand codifying fiduciary standards of care," said Blaine Aikin, the fi360 CEO.

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