One of the driving forces behind the change in the way we advise our clients was driven by the realisation that we as financial advisers are in no small part in the crises management business.

Recent events have highlighted again the need for standardisation in how fund managers report on both their performance and fees.

Failed finance companies have netted PricewaterhouseCoopers more than $10 million since the sector collapse started in 2006.

Recent publicity here and in Australia has focused on what has been an age old debate within the industry since its foundation, should advisers be paid fees or generate their income from brokerage?

Increasingly the spectre of the application of the Financial Advisers Act 2008 (FAA) is dawning on the consciousness of the accounting profession. As a result those accountants who have turned their mind to the issue are realising that they will be faced with some stark choices.

Legislation allowing New Zealanders returning home from Australia to bring their retirement savings with them will be introduced to Parliament in about two weeks, Finance Minister Bill English says.

James Wigglesworth, Francois Bondiguel and Jason Leong are not native to Dunedin but they appear to have been inspired by the southern city's Scottish heritage in the creation of their start-up venture, Pocketsmith.

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

Another London-based company is arriving on the scene, giving incumbent CMC Markets a run for its money.

Short term cash rates are likely to remain low for some time, with those investors seeking higher yields forced to start "moving out along the yield curve", according to ING NZ.

Prudent investment portfolio managers should not invest 100% of the funds under their care, but look to include gold bullion into the mix as "insurance" against the current global financial upheaval and falling value of money.

Many New Zealand investors have money invested into global share markets. This includes individuals right through to the large savings funds such as the NZ Superannuation Fund. Over the past decade the market has seen massive peaks and troughs.

The government should look at lifting the portfolio investment entity (PIE) rate above its current top rate of 30%, says Labour Party finance spokesman David Cunliffe.

Finance Minister Bill English and Australian Treasurer Wayne Swann have agreed on a scheme that will allow Australians and New Zealanders to transfer their retirement savings across the Tasman.