Members of the AAA Advisers Association (AAA) have mostly opted for independent agreements with AMP, despite this preventing them from accessing AMP’s WealthView portfolio platform.

We have some meaty issues in this week's Wrap, but before we get to them there is a bit of news out.

Advisers need to be sure infrastructure products match what clients are looking for from the asset class, according to AMP, which is launching its global infrastructure fund in New Zealand.

SIFA is embarking on a recruitment drive after suffering a 50% decline in membership, but there are fears for the organisation’s future if the market for sole practitioners doesn’t improve.

Kiwibank’s credit rating has dropped back below that of the big Australian banks after it was cut by one notch by ratings agency Standard & Poor’s.

Stock brokers are likely to provide stiff competition for financial advisers when declines in brokerage fees force them to change their business focus, a fund manager says.

The resources sector is likely to be a mixed bag in the near future but the long-term drivers supporting it are still there, according to a fund manager who specialises in the sector.

Listed investment firm Marlin Global has rejected fund manager Elevation Capital’s criticism of its decision to renew Fisher Funds’ management contract before next week’s annual meeting.

This week a proposed merger between two industry associations reignited the debate over whether there is room for more than one "professional body" in the financial adviser marketplace.

It’s not just banks who will benefit from a proposed deal to reduce FATCA compliance; financial advisers who are on the “front line” will also have a much easier time complying, a tax expert says.

Charging fees based on services provided rather than assets under management is fairer and clients actually prefer paying that way, according to NZ Funds chief executive Richard James.

A top financial services lawyer has been hospitalised with second-degree burns following a “freak” explosion in his kitchen, and he says he is lucky he wasn’t more seriously injured.

Competition between KiwiSaver providers is intensifying as the growth in new members slows, a new analysis by the Financial Markets Authority suggests.

The merged Life Brokers Association (LBA) and TNP Professional Association (TNPPA) will look to emulate the Institute of Financial Advisers, says one of the key players in the proposed amalgamation, however the IFA says there is only room for one adviser association.

Pimco eyes New Zealand bonds; Heartland rating affirmed; Hubbard hearing delayed

Advisers who assume their clients will behave rationally when investing are at risk of losing their business if markets hit a rough patch, attendees at the IFA roadshow have been warned.