Why are advisers and brokers being singled out? Asks the AFA The Federal Government has been challenged to explain why financial advisers and mortgage brokers are being targeted in the wake of the Royal Commission when others including product providers, super fund trustees and dealer group executive are being let off the hook. For more.

Planner group accuses ASIC of outdated view on conflicts of interest Planner group, the Profession of Independent Financial Advisers wants a clearer banning of asset-based fees and an updating of Australian Securities and Investment Commission interpretations on what represents a conflict of interest. For more.

Advice is now an elitist service Regulation has prompted many financial advisers to leave the industry and has not allowed advice to be scalable, according to Connect Financial Services Brokers. For more.

Increasing SG ineffective in boosting retirement income Relaxing the taper rate on the Age Pension and increasing rent assistance will do more for retirement income than increasing the SG, the Grattan Institute believes. For more.

China stockmarket outperforms global peers – for now Chinese equities have outperformed their global counterparts despite the worldwide threat of coronavirus, reporting positive returns year to date versus losses for Australian equities. For more.

Fed surprises markets with emergency 50bps rate cut The Federal Reserve has made an emergency policy move, cutting interest rates by 50bps, the same day as the Reserve Bank of Australia. For more.

RBA cuts due to coronavirus The Reserve Bank of Australia has cut rates by 25 basis points to a new low of 0.5% in response to the coronavirus outbreak. For more.

Morningstar acquires fintech firm PlanPlus Global Morningstar is to acquire Canadian financial planning and risk-profiling software firm PlanPlus Global. For more.

Fiscal stimulus needed Clime Investment Management has called for an urgent summit to discuss a necessity for a fiscal stimulus to support the ailing Australian economy. For more.

CFS moves on grandfathering and insurance commissions Colonial First State has announced fee reductions on the back of a program which will see the removal of grandfathered conflicted remuneration and insurance-related adviser commissions. For more.

Has APRA’s tough move on agreed value DII changed the game for good? Mike Taylor writes that few, if any, of the major players are arguing that the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority got it wrong with its major intervention with respect to agreed value disability insurance, but can the insurers now get it right? For more.

The big alternative questions Oksana Patron finds out how advisers can incorporate alternative investment strategies into their clients’ portfolio, what they need to understand about alternative investing and what are common investor misconceptions. For more.