The ifa Show

On a new episode of the ifa Show, host Neil Griffiths is joined by Altius Asset Management CIO Bill Bovingdon. Bill joined the podcast to discuss why ESG is essential for risk management and how bonds are advantageous for responsible investors. As well as discussing Altius' Green Bond Fund, Bill explained why demand and interest are rapidly growing in the sustainable investing space and that in the next decade, it would be "impossible" for Australian investors to not be engaged. "It's going to be a prerequisite basically. It would be like a borrower trying to come to market without audited accounts if they didn't have a sustainability plan," he said. "We've already seen that playing out politically, locally, where one of the big motivations for net zero by 2050 was a recognition that international investors and providers of capital were going to make us pay for not having good sustainability policies. "I think now that's going to happen at every level, government, corporate, and so on."

In a new episode of the ifa Show, host Maja Garaca Djurdjevic is joined by Charter Hall direct chief executive Steven Bennett to discuss the benefits of investing in commercial property. Overseeing more than $8 billion of assets on behalf of self-managed super funds, Steven knows a thing or two about the cruciality of a diversified portfolio, one that taps into the benefits of commercial property in particular. Steven gives his thoughts on industrial property and why it will remain highly desirable, as well as dispelling the common "death-of-the-office" myth. He also explains the differences and similarities of investing in unlisted direct property versus listed property securities funds, and why advisers may want to choose an actively managed property securities fund over an index fund. Moreover, Steven reveals the sectors Charter Hall is currently looking at for diversified portfolios.

On a new episode of the ifa Show, host Maja Garaca Djurdjevic is joined by special guest and executive director of the Association of Independently Owned Financial Professionals, Peter Johnston. Ahead of his appearance at the ifa Future Forum, Peter joins Maja to give a sneak peek into the topics he'll be discussing next Wednesday (17 November). Peter talks about some of the most burning issues in advice today, including cost, compliance and the toll they are having on advisers' mental health. But Peter does see a light at the end of the tunnel. Tune in to hear more and join us at the ifa Future Forum, for free, next Wednesday (17 November).

The ifa Show is brought to you by Sharesight

On a new episode of the ifa show, host Neil Griffiths is joined by special guest and head of asset manager Milford's Australian business, Kristine Brooks.

Neil and Kristine look at the Australian markets over the last 12-18 months and what's to come as the country emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It's been an incredible period," Kristine said.

"I think if you had have asked me at the start of the pandemic where we were really starting to get a lot of noise around the seriousness of this virus, I would not have anticipated the market outcome that we've actually seen unfold. I would have expected a lot more volatility and potentially under performance… "

Kristine said that at Milford, the team has been committed to clients' investment performances.

"We also turn our sights to downside protection and making sure that our portfolios are positioned well, if we are to hit periods of volatility, " she said.

"For that reason, we've definitely seen some strong out-performance over the period which is great." Milford disclaimer: Equity Trustees Limited ("Equity Trustees") (ABN 46 004 031 298), AFSL 240975, is the Responsible Entity for the Milford Investment Funds. Equity Trustees is a subsidiary of EQT Holdings Limited (ABN 22 607 797 615), a publicly listed company on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX: EQT). Milford Australia Pty Ltd ABN 65 169 262 971 (AFSL 461253) has prepared this advertisement as investment manager of the Milford Investment Funds. The Product Disclosure Statements for the Milford Investment Funds are available here. The Milford Investment Funds Target Market Determinations are available here. The Target Market Determination is a document describing who this financial product is likely to be appropriate for (i.e. the target market), and any conditions around how the product can be distributed to investors. It also describes the events or circumstances where the Target Market Determination for this financial product may need to be reviewed. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

In a new episode of the ifa Show, host Neil Griffiths is joined by Midwinter chief commercial officer Steve Davison to discuss the accessibility of advice. Steve gives his take on the current state of accessibility of advice, what the biggest challenges are moving forward both for the industry and consumers, and what regulators can do to improve access to advice. "For me, as a technology provider, I would like to have my prospective clients, which is advice businesses, have more confidence to innovate around technology," he said. "To do this they need confidence around where the boundaries sit around scoping advice, what is in and out of scope and what level of effort is required beyond that. "The client may want something that is very simple at the moment, but some of the regulations could be interpreted that you have to ask more questions than perhaps what the consumers are really wanting to ask or have done."

In a new episode of the ifa Show, host Neil Griffiths is joined by Macquarie Fixed Income portfolio manager Gary Ding. Gary joins the podcast to discuss the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Australian economy, the market outlook and why it's unlikely we'll ever get back to where it was pre-pandemic. "I don't think we'll ever get back there," he said. "I can't see how we can get back to the old normal. In fact, from an investment management point of view, we have to adapt into this new environment where asset prices are more associated with the policy trajectory from the central bank, rather than what's happening in the real economy." In the episode, Gary also discusses the challenges investors faced over the last 12 to 18 months and what the biggest opportunities will be coming out of the pandemic.

In this special episode of the ifa Show, ifa editor Maja Garaca Djurdjevic is joined by co-host Neil Griffiths to look at the week's biggest stories. Maja and Neil discuss Australian Advisory's latest research paper which outlined the biggest concerns of advisers moving forward, on the back of news that the total number of advisers in Australia has dropped below 19,000. Meanwhile, earlier this week, the Financial Services Council (FSC) released a new white paper which proposes a framework that the peak body claims could reduce the cost of providing financial advice by almost 40 per cent. Maja and Neil discuss the paper and the reaction to the recommendations within the industry.

The ifa Show is brought to you by Sharesight

This week's episode of the ifa Show is joined by Camilla Love, creator of the Future Females in Finance (F3 Project) and the managing director of eInvest. Camilla joins host Maja Garaca Djurdjevic to discuss women in finance and where in particular there are gaps in the sector. "… finance actually from a top level, doesn't look too bad. I think it's a 45 per cent male–female relationship," Camilla said. "But then when you go into specific pockets of finance, you look at financial planning, you look at investment management, these focused areas, there's an absolute gap, huge gaping gap. "In the 20 years that I've been in the industry, has it got better? I'm not sure."

The ifa Show podcast is joined by 2021 ifa Excellence Awards finalist and CEO of Lifespan Financial Planning, Eugene Ardino

Eugene discusses the incredible feat with host Neil Griffiths as well as an overcompliance in the advice industry just days out from more regulation coming in relation to breach reporting, hawking and information sharing which he said will cause an "explosion" in the sector.

"I think four of them directly impact financial advisers, which is something that I don't know that we've seen too many times in the past," he said.

"Plus, there's been other new legislations or drastic changes to legislations that have happened this year. So, this is all flying through into the back-office cost of advisers, which then gets passed onto consumers."

As well as going for his third straight Dealer Group Executive of the Year win this year, Eugene is also up for Industry Thought Leader of the Year.

In a new episode of the ifa Show, host Neil Griffiths is joined by joint managing director of Netwealth, Matt Heine.

Matt goes through the tech company's fifth annual AdviceTech report which proved to be a defining one for the advice industry.

"Not surprisingly this year, there's been a real focus on the outcomes of COVID. And I think in many ways, despite the fact that we've been doing it for five years, over the last four years, we haven't actually seen a lot of change in the technology adoption of advisers," he said.

"Since COVID's occurred, obviously, our whole lives have moved online. Everyone's had to reinvent the way that they do business, the way that they engage with new clients, the way that they service their existing clients.

"And as a result of that, we've seen very meaningful changes in not only the scores, but also the intentions of the industry and from us as a tech provider."

Matt shares his biggest takeaways from the report, what the technological adoption by advisers will mean for the future and predictions for 2022.