News Round Up: Nov 14

FSPB approves duty of care principles; Economic pessimism on the rise according to PIMCO; Bravo for Bravura as it hits 1m mark.

Monday, November 14th 2011, 7:08AM

FPSB approves duty of care principles

The Financial Planning Standards Board (FPSB) has approved a set of client-focused principles to guide the activities and behaviour of financial planners when working with clients.

Entitled ‘Financial Planner Duty of Care to Clients' the seven principles call on planners to: Behave like a fiduciary, act in accordance with professional expectations, provide full and appropriate disclosure, act with transparency, manage conflicts of interest, secure fully informed client consent and communicate the compensation/remuneration model.

"As consumers look to restore trust and confidence in the financial services community, financial planners need to be able to clearly communicate the value of working with a financial planner," said FPSB chief Noel Maye.

"FPSB's Duty of Care principles provide a guide for how financial planners can set themselves apart through professionalism, client-centred advice and a commitment to ethical behaviour."

Economic pessimism on the rise according to PIMCO

Pessimism over the prospects for global economic growth has grown significantly since March, according to a survey of institutional clients by bond giant PIMCO.

Only 20% of respondents were optimistic about the outlook for the US, down from 50% in March, while pessimism also increased over European and Australian growth.

"Only 30% of respondents were optimistic about the Australian economy, forecasting 4% growth in September versus 58% in March," said PIMCO Australia head John Wilson.

Wilson said the survey also revealed where PIMCO clients see opportunities over the coming year.

"Skilled ‘alpha' strategies; fixed income credit strategies hedged into AUD, infrastructure, Australian shares paying high/fully franked dividends and gold," he said.

Bravo for Bravura as it hits 1m mark

Bravura solutions has passed one million KiwiSaver members supported on its wealth management platforms.

Bravura COO Jason Tong said, "The majority of KiwiSaver accounts are now administered on Bravura platforms - this is testament to the quality of our software and depth of functionality."

He said New Zealand remained a key market for the company.

"We continue to invest in our technology to support KiwiSaver and our other investment and life insurance clients in the region."

« News Round Up: Nov 21

KiwiSaver mismatch a 'huge challenge' for advisers »

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