Two funds management empires fall, while a new one is built.

Financial Advice NZ is, arguably, about to enter into a period which will determine its future.

It was curious to see the Financial Services Council is turning itself into a lobby group – last time it did that things didn’t go too well.

The National Party plans to get rid of CoFI if it wins this year’s election. I won’t mince my words. It’s an even dumber policy than what it proposes for KiwiSaver and will leave most New Zealanders unprotected if, and when, things go wrong in financial services.

KiwiSaver is 16 years old and about to crack $100 billion in funds under management. Most people in the industry think it’s time for a refurb. But can you trust the politicians to get it right.

After four years we have finally arrived in the new world of licensed financial advisers. Welcome.

This week we got a much better look at the "new FMA" and it's quite different to the old one.

In part two of Good Returns' interview with AIA's Sam Tremethick he makes a premium promise, talks about commissions and a new initiative to swell adviser ranks.

AIA chief partnership officer Sam Tremethick has returned to Australia. Before he left he reflected on his time in New Zealand with Good Returns publisher Philip Macalister. In part one of this series he talks about NZ advisers and Vitality.

In the space of a couple of days two big deals were done in financial services; one was good the other not so good. 

The passing of one of our first financial advisers, Roger Moses, has made me reflect on how much financial planning has changed over the past couple of decades.

It feels like a storm is brewing and a potential crisis is building, especially in the life insurance sector.

Here are three things we learnt from the Financial Markets Authority Value for Money report. While there is some good stuff in the report there are also things the industry should be worried about.

Now the worst kept secret is out; that Kiwi Wealth is on the market, the question is who will buy the firm. But there are some other big questions too.

If responsible investing ever had a bigger problem then look no further than what is happening in Ukraine.

It's hard to believe we are nearly through the first month of 2022. Judging by the way the year has started financial advisers are going to be a busy bunch.