Life/risk advisers facing COVID-19-driven clawbacks Life/risk advisers have been caught in a bind as they find themselves at risk of clawbacks as they seek to help clients deal with financial hardship by winding back premiums. For more.

TAL and AustralianSuper provide life cover for members with empty accounts Those members of AustralianSuper who empty out their superannuation accounts via the Government’s hardship early release scheme will continue to have life cover worth $10,000 for six months via an arrangement worked out between the superannuation and major insurer, TAL. For more.

How do you run a not for profit planning business? The answer to running a not for profit planning business is to establish it within an industry superannuation, according to evidence given to a key parliamentary committee. For more.

Work test and spouse contribution changes to increase retirement savings The changes will take effect on 1 July and advisers need to include them in clients’ end-of-year planning, according to the SMSF Association. For more.

Class founders depart business Class has announced that its founders, Amreeta Abbott and Vitalii Symon, will depart the business following the integration of NowInfinity. For more.

Climate change to hit sovereign ratings The impact of climate and policy developments on variables that directly affect sovereign creditworthiness will affect ratings, according to Fitch Ratings. For more.

How come markets are rallying? Global stockmarkets are continuing to rally despite worldwide volatility, indicating it is being driven by stock-specific factors than macro activity. For more.

RARE puts cash to work on airports and toll roads RARE Infrastructure has added exposure to toll roads and airports that were trading at valuations 50% lower than last year. For more.

What does choosing an impact investment mean for returns? The average annualised return for impact investment products was 5.3% during 2018-19, according to a report by the Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA). For more.

Warakirri AM appoints BDM Scott Curtis has been appointed to its retail distribution team as business development manager, as the firm continues its expansion in the Australian retail market. For more.

Phillip Capital ditches retail advice Phillip Capital Limited has announced it will cease providing advice to retail clients in Australia following a sale agreement with Sequoia Wealth Management for its private wealth segment. For more.

ANZ sells its NZ asset finance business for NZ$762m ANZ has announced the sale of its New Zealand asset finance business, UDC Finance, for NZ$762 million to Shinsei Bank. For more.

Who benefits from low oil prices? The record low oil price would ordinarily be a benefit for oil importers, writes Laura Dew, but the COVID-19 pandemic means these are anything but ordinary times. For more.

Despite COVID-19 China is still yuan-stoppable China has been under intense political scrutiny as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, but Chris Dastoor writes, its investment markets have proven resilient. For more.

ESG funds – the real deal or pretenders? Mike Taylor writes that research and ratings house Lonsec has developed and launched a new approach to ESG ratings which it hopes will help advisers separate the real ESG funds from the pretenders hiding behind loose labelling. For more.