Small AFSLs on the rise but breach reporting low; Financial services market facing oversupply of highly skilled execs

ASIC data shows the number of smaller AFSLs with less than $50 million in revenue has increased by 25 per cent in the past year, but the regulator believes they are still under reporting breaches.

The financial services industry is currently “overwhelmed with quality and quantity of candidates”, Kaizen Recruitment explains, leading executives to face 12-month long recruitment processes.

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Following its recent partnership with Otivo, Colonial First State has now announced an arrangement with Viridian Advisory to offer unadvised members with one-off, topic-based financial advice.

Former financial adviser and Coalition backbencher Bert van Manen has introduced a bill in Parliament, building on Michelle Levy’s good advice duty and calling for SOAs to be scrapped.

Insignia Financial has made four appointments, including three who have joined from TAL, to lead strategy and innovation in its retirement solutions for the MLC brand.

Funds managers are being urged by financial advisers to improve their “outdated” education and communication about alternative funds as they actively target them towards retail clients.

Equity Trustees has been selected as the responsible entity for two new funds, one from Coller Capital focused on private equity and a second investing in fixed income from FIIG Securities.

As ESG and sustainable funds continue to suffer outflows and the regulator cracks down on greenwashing, there has been a notable downturn in the number of launches and staff hires in this area.