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21 May 2026
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‘Suitability’ of financial advice is something unlikely to be addressed by the Royal Commission, but its adoption and regulation is crucial to the improvement of the wealth management industry.
Good financial advice requires finding out a lot about an investor, in the same way a good relationship involves more than a few online questions.
It makes sense for investors to seek quality financial advice, but sorting through the pool of advisers to find the best can be tough. Don't rely on industry regulation to do the checking for you.
While ASIC reviews the feedback on its robo advice policies, the US regulator makes it clear it requires the same standard of care from robo advisers as it expects from human advisers.
Robo-advisers will make their impact in wealth management, but that doesn’t guarantee their success. Like any business, there will be major challenges to overcome as they attempt to disrupt financial advice.
The fear of sequence risk drives investors to take equity and risky asset exposures out of their retirement portfolios, but is this such a good idea? Looking back over the last 40 years provides some perspective.
A return to indexation of capital gains would be a fairer way to compensate households for the effects of inflation than the current discount. Importantly, it opens the door to future, broader reforms to stop the taxation of inflation.
Australia may not levy formal death duties, but a growing web of tax measures is quietly shaping what wealth passes between generations. Now, the 2026 budget adds another layer.
From oil shocks to fractured alliances, the Iran war carries the hallmarks of a historic policy misstep - one that could tip an already fragile global economy into crisis.
Marketed as a fix for inequality and housing affordability, the latest budget instead delivers a tangle of tax changes that leave everyday Australians worse off.
Copper has had a rough few weeks but investors should not ignore the potential for future price increases as supply increasingly falls behind demand.
The budget’s property tax reforms are being framed as fairness measures, but they risk splitting the housing market, penalising lower‑income investors and introducing distortions that may prove costly.
The vast and opaque world of private assets is a powerful gravitational force - and when trouble hits, it's the more liquid public equities that often the feel it first.