Fidelity Life has told its shareholders to do nothing at this stage in reaction to TOWER's unsolicited takeover bid for the company.

The board is seekeing independent advice on the offer and will communicate with shareholders "in due course." 

"Directors have recommended that Fidelity shareholders take no action at this stage. Shareholders should wait for a formal takeover offer to be made and full details of Fidelity's assessment of the offer, including the board's recommendation and the independent financial adviser's report."

Meanwhile Fidelity has reported a record net profit of $16.9 million, for the 12 months to June 30. This is up 63% on 2009.

Commission consults on standard conditions for QFEs
The Securities Commission is inviting submissions on proposed standard conditions for financial adviser businesses that apply for Qualifying Financial Entity (QFE) status.

The consultation paper sets out the content of the proposed standard conditions for QFEs. It is relevant for all QFE applicants.

Entities that wish to apply for QFE status must first submit an Adviser Business Statement to the Commission for consideration by 1 December. The Commission has received just over 20 statements to date.

The consultation paper is published at www.seccom.govt.nz 

KiwiSaver growth slowed
Plan For Life says KiwiSaver growth slowed during the June 2010 quarter to a relatively sedate (in KiwiSaver terms) 4.3%, as the recovery from the global financial meltdown came to a fairly abrupt halt with markets falling back in response to potential sovereign debt defaults by a number of European countries.

“Nevertheless despite this latest setback over the past 12 months total KiwiSaver funds under management were still up by an impressive 79.9%.”

The companies that achieved the highest growth rates in percentage terms were Fidelity Life (145.4%), ING (100.9%), BT / Westpac (95.8%), ASB Group Investments (93.7%) and Fisher Funds (88.3%).

Fidelity recorded a more than doubling of its KiwiSaver Inflows year on year while ING, ASB, Fisher, Tower, AMP and Mercer also all experiencing double digit percentage increases.

Nothing more than a pause
With monetary policy expected to remain extremely easy and the global economic recovery intact, financial market conditions are favourable for investors, according to Barclays latest research publication, Global Outlook: Nothing More Than a Pause.

Head of Research at Barclays Capital Larry Kantor says "While we do not expect growth to reach the pace of the initial post-recession phase, easy monetary conditions are working across global financial markets, and it is simply a matter of time before that provides a lift to real activity.

"Emerging markets should continue to outperform developed markets, and we see the massive underperformance of equities relative to credit nearing an end."

Workplace Savings encouraged in Retirement Income Adequacy debate
Workplace Savings undertook a survey at its conference to get views on some topical issues and a few of the clear messages are:

• Most respondents would like to see Workplace Savings take ownership of the Retirement Income Adequacy debate;
• Most respondents would like to see Workplace Savings NZ focus more on promotion of financial literacy in the workplace;
• General support for the introduction of a new individual membership category called a “Workplace Savings Professional” (WSP).