Everyone has a form of bias built into their decision-making processes. It could be based on bad outcomes from past experiences or better than expected results from one activity over another. It may be that you gathered your relevant knowledge from a source that itself contained an inate bias. The trick is to know...
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Thoughts from a Perth Financial Planner
WSP Financial Services Pty Ltd links
This web site is operated by Michael O'Hara, an Authorised Representative of WSP Financial Services Pty Ltd (AFSL 237463), which trades as Wealth & Security Planners.The views expressed within this website are Michael's personal views, and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the views of WSP Financial Services Pty Ltd.Fees and Bias
Discussion on how fees, independence and bias operate in the field of providing advice on financial matters.
Investment Advice and Bias
The Global Financial Crisis Exposed
Money, power, bias – and truth. The Global Financial Crisis (now simply designated ‘the GFC’) brought all of these priorities, and the conflicts they cause, into stark view. A new movie “The Inside Job” successfully highlights the interplay of vested interests, hidden compensation and regulatory policy stupidity that suggests not only that the eventual...
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Is adviser bashing the new black?
One of my favourite stupid sayings goes something along the lines of “…. is the new black” (insert whatever is the trend of the moment. It is ridiculous because you cannot be “new” and considered a classic both at the same time). So i am actually being terribly clever on this lovely Friday, by...
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Another day, another lynch-mob
Far from me to sit on my porch playing the fiddle, while watching the business district i live in being burned to the ground. That once-magnificent newspaper, the Australian Financial Review, yesterday headlined the changes in the financial industry as some institutions move to drop commissions from their products. All very laudable steps. Follow...
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Hidden costs in superannuation and investments
Just a quick note today… With the broohah surrounding the government announcements on legislating to remove commissions from superannuation and investment accounts there are all sorts of comments being made on the likely impacts – some more informed than others. Feedback in a number of online forums suggests that many people are happy with...
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Is there ever a level playing field?
So you come to work, looking forward to a day doing the job you love, and thinking how lucky you are to deal with the people you deal with. For some reason you glance at the front page of the financial papers and these are the headlines glaring back at you. It wouldn’t hurt...
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Vested Interests and Superannuation Advice
We mere mortals here in Wealth & Security Planners have been bemusedly scanning the various reactions to Australian Securities & Investments Commission guidelines for the Trustees of super funds to be able to provide advice to their members. In case you missed it, the guide is set out here. The impetus for the change...
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If this is what passes for intelligent discussion – i’m going back to kindergarten…
If you are bored enough of your day-to-day, you may have noticed my previous posting which included the text of a note that i sent to the Crikey online newsletter in an attempt to get some sort of intelligent discussion happening in regards to commissions and fees for superannuation. Well, it seems that when...
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Legislating to ban commissions on superannuation
For many years various pressure groups around the country have been trying to have legislation brought in to ban the payment of commissions from superannuation accounts. Pressure has mounted even further as links are drawn between commissions generated and the recent failures of MIS scheme operators Great Southern and Timbercorp, as well as the...
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Bias in action
Having just spent a bit of time setting out the relative aspects of bias that exist in the Financial Planning industry, i thought it relevant to highlight just how prevalent and deeply ingrained this tendency for bias is. Please bear in mind that i am not making a value judgement here – bias will...
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Pidgin Economics
Financial Planning is all about understanding money. The problem is that traditional financial planning is all about your Financial Planner understanding money and your simply agreeing with whatever it is that they are telling you. How do i know this? i know that this is the case because i am an avid reader of all things financial, and my role as an active Financial Planner in Perth, Western Australia, keeps me up-to-date with the latest trends no what is happening in Western Australia. Constant contact with other planning professionals, and with employees, representatives and management of major financial institutions, helps to bring about a fairly wide picture of how things stand at any given point in time. If there is a "zeitgeist" to financial planning (and i am referring to the "spirit of the times" definition and not the popular conspiracy theory video) then right now that would be a spirit of Inquisition. That's not all good, by the way. Financial Planners and the financial planning world are under the microscope in a way that has not happened before. Fees and bias are being raised in a negative sense, with very little perspective or history being presented to help the average person understand money or how the financial planning world works - and that is a bad thing, as legislative changes as well as consumer group pressure, are combining to fundamentally alter the fabric of financial planning in Australia. All change is not always for the better, and Financial Planning will not necessarily involve less fees and bias in the future. If anything, the changes to legislation for financial planning operators is already working towards a greater reduction in choice and clarity. Bias driven by commercial arrangements are being hidden even further, as financial planning groups take positions in financial products to gain some financial exposure to investment and superannuation funds flows. The term "independent" is mistakenly assumed to mean "free of bias", and that is a mistake that is made by legislators, consumer groups, consumers and even financial planners. This site aims to bring about a greater understanding of money and the financial planning world. It's not a destination but a journey, and not a short one at that. If you are interested in financial planning (especially Perth financial planning) then spend a while to get to know this site, and i believe you will learn far more than you expect. If you do not, click on the "contact" links and tell me where we fall short. I assure you that all input will be attended to and considered. - Michael O'Hara
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