Professional Investment Services (PIS) has formed a joint venture with risk advisory group Minerva that will create a business of more than 150 advisers.

The much-anticipated Australian government report investigating financial advisers and products has just stopped short of recommending an outright ban on commissions.

Risk-based advisory group The National Partnership (TNP) officially launched its Academy program this week, offering 80 advisers the chance to fast-track business growth with a money-back guarantee.

The Insurance and Savings Ombudsman (ISO) will open its disputes resolution scheme to the financial advisory market.

Australian firm van Eyk Research has entered the New Zealand market for the first time after completing a manager review for AMP Financial Services.

The proposed merger of AMP and AXA would create New Zealand’s largest tied financial advisory force by far, according to figures included in the AMP offer document.

Authorised financial advisers (AFAs) will have to pay a minimum of almost $3,000 to comply in the first year of regulation, according to figures compiled by the Institute of Financial Advisers (IFA).

Mortgage brokers are prone to giving poor risk advice, according to top industry players who attended the recent ASSET insurance roundtable.

Adopting a flexible attitude to asset allocation has added about 0.7% to portfolio returns since the beginning of 2007, according to Mercer.

KiwiSaver providers just over $36.6 million in fees and expenses over the 12 months to March 31 this year, according to the latest report from the Government Actuary (GA).

A new disputes resolution service targeting financial advisers is being launched as the rush to comply with the coming regulatory regime intensifies.

Sovereign has jacked up its life insurance commissions to 230% as the battle for the third-party advisory space heats up.

Boutique fund manager Pathfinder has capped the total annual fee expense for its Commodity Plus Fund at 1.3% in a move that the firm's principals, John Berry and Paul Brownsey, said "lifts the bar for market standards".

Financial advisers who deal with a range of category one products would remain accountable even if they operate under the badge of a Qualifying Financial Entity (QFE), Angus Dale-Jones, Securities Commission director supervision, told Good Returns.

The government is considering new proposals that would significantly broaden the ambit of Qualifying Financial Entities (QFE), including the ability for financial advisers acting under their auspices to sell third-party products.

The proposed Qualifying Financial Entity (QFE) regulations would likely lead to the re-emergence of a tied insurance advisory force, according to industry spokespeople attending a recent ASSET magazine roundtable event.