Banks may have to sell rivals’ products
Banks could be forced to sell financial products manufactured by competitors under new powers to be given to the corporate regulator. Australian Securities and Investments Commission chairman Greg Medcraft said the move could break down the economics of cross-selling and force banks to sell their wealth operations. Foreshadowing the end of the vertically-integrated banking model, Mr Medcraft said new laws will give ASIC a mandate to police competition while “product intervention” powers could be used to ensure banks only sell products that are in the best interests of their customers – which might not necessarily be their own. Mr Medcraft said the regulator could use its new powers to limit […]
Macquarie’s plan to beat the investment robots
Investing robots and index funds are poaching billions of dollars from human fund managers, but Macquarie Investment Management head of the Americas Shawn Lytle says the firm is repositioning to cope with the seismic shift into passive investing. Globally, droves of investors are yanking money from high-fee active managers and parking their funds in passive strategies such as exchange-traded funds that ride the ups and downs of select markets. Macquarie Investment Management, a global division which manages about $US257 billion of Macquarie Group’s $US362 billion in assets under management, is aiming to differentiate by offering more unique actively managed equities, bonds and alternative assets such as infrastructure. “We are at […]
ASIC signs fintech agreement with Indonesia
The Australian corporate regulator has signed a co-operation agreement with Indonesia’s financial services authority, Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (OJK), to “promote innovation in financial services in their respective markets”. The agreement, signed on Friday, provides a framework for the two regulators to share information on market trends and regulatory issues that develop from innovation within their respective markets. “Many fintechs are not constrained by national borders and it is fundamental that we leverage this to share views, exchange information and to discuss some of the challenges that this can create for fintech businesses and the community,” said ASIC commissioner John Price. The regulator said increased co-operation between the two regulators will […]
IRESS readies industry for Fair and Sustainable Superannuation reforms
Financial technology provider IRESS says that just two months out from the introduction of new superannuation laws, administrators and financial advisers should now be in the final stages of preparation. The superannuation laws, known as the Fair & Sustainable Superannuation reforms, introduce new tax concessions, a $1.6 million transfer balance cap, the removal of the tax exemptions for Transition to Retirement pensions and a new system of ‘catch-up’ concessional contributions to assist those with broken work patterns. IRESS’ superannuation administration platform, Acurity, and its financial advice technology, XPLAN, have now provided a range of updates to clients in response to the complex changes, with new versions being provided under existing […]
Robo adviser Six Park says lower balance SMSFs are viable
A robo adviser backed by four founding members of the Future Fund says that pre-retirees with starting balances of under $150,000 can run their own super funds, despite the corporate watchdog cracking down on providers that offer low-balance SMSF set-ups. The chief executive of Six Park Patrick Garrett said that the robo adviser, which counts the former federal finance minister Lindsay Tanner as both a financial backer and an advisory board member, is launching a lower-cost establishment service to make self-managed superannuation funds more “accessible” and easier to run, particularly for those with small balances. “I wouldn’t recommend a $10,000 SMSF account. But we have one of our first clients, […]
TorFX Awarded Best Value International Money Transfers
MOZO, one of Australia’s most established and accredited financial comparison websites has just announced TorFX as its Experts Choice Award for International Money Transfers 2017. This is the second year running that MOZO have awarded the title to TorFX; great recognition for a company who believe offer their customers the best value when making international payments to and from Australia. TorFX provide individuals and businesses with international payments as a cost saving alternative to the banks, by providing their clients with more competitive exchange rates than the more traditional means. TorFX clients can transfer money online 24/7 from anywhere in the world using their computer, tablet or smartphone. […]
Westpac CEO Brian Hartzer pledges bigger tech start-up focus
Westpac chief executive Brian Hartzer has said the ability of the bank to partner, acquire and invest in the growing band of emerging fintech start-ups will become increasingly central to the bank’s future survival. Speaking at the annual Australian summit of US cloud computing giant Amazon Web Services in Sydney on Wednesday morning, Mr Hartzer sought to demonstrate how the 200-year-old institution has evolved to adapt first to changing scientific and technological advances throughout its history. However, he conceded that the bank had recognised that it could no longer expect to compete with the advancing capabilities offered by new technologies, without aggressively targeting the start-up sector. “We can adopt techniques […]
Fintech Down Under
Cameron Dart is the CEO of International Fintech, a hub that connects Australian fintech companies to the rest of the world and vice versa. The company recently opened a London “launch pad” office that helps Australian startups expand globally and links startups in other countries to the Australian market. To help shed light on the state of Australian fintech, Benzinga caught up with Cameron Dart for a Q&A about innovation and how fintech solves problems for Australian users. Q&A With Cameron Dart What’s the general “lay of the land” of Australian fintech? The Australian fintech industry as a whole is in its infancy compared to the United States and the […]
