ACTU accuses Govt over early release super The Government has a hatred of superannuation and is encouraging people to take early access to their superannuation simply to protect the Budget bottom line, according to the Australian Council of Trade Unions. For more.

COVID-19 affected zombie companies identified in financial services Small to medium-sized financial services companies have been identified as being amongst those likely to fall off a cliff when the Government removes Jobkeeper and other support. For more.

FASEA formalises CPD relief The legislative instrument that will grant three-month continuing professional development relief for advisers due to the COVID-19 pandemic has been formalised by FASEA. For more.

Paperwork and communications the key to winning in front of AFCA A senior Australian Financial Complaints Authority ombudsman has acknowledged that financial advisers are doing it tough in a tricky environment and that the authority will be conscious of this in dealing with any resultant client complaints. For more.

RARE reduces fees on infrastructure funds RARE Infrastructure has reduced fees on its suite of global infrastructure funds including removing performance fees from its Infrastructure Value funds. For more.

Advisers should not be abandoning defensive assets Interest rates may be low and dividend payments doubtful, but a Money Management Retirement Incomes webinar panel has agreed there is a continuing and necessary role for defensive assets. For more.

Investors doubtful over V-shaped recovery The proportion of investors who expect we will see a V-shaped recovery has declined to 14% in favour of a W-shaped one. For more.

Australia sees 64% annual growth in strategic-beta ETPs Strategic-beta exchange traded products saw growth of 64% in Australia in just one year to US$4.9 billion thanks to net new inflows of $1.3 billion in 2019. For more.

Equities to offer better long-term value From a long-term perspective, equities will offer better value to investors than most other asset classes, according to DNR Capital. For more.

Contributing to super As financial advisers enter their busiest period of the year, Graeme Colley explains the latest developments surrounding superannuation contributions at the end of the 2019/20 financial year. For more.