News

There’s a lot of hype in the market at the moment with regard to Bitcoin. Almost every session on my weekly radio segment, a listener is asking;

The ASX200 pipped the magic 6,000 level again and added 1.64% for the month.

Over the last few months, Amazon has quietly been launching in Australia. Setting up a 'fulfilment' centre in Victoria, and having a token website with the standard bookshop front window. Meanwhile listed Aussie retailers like Harvey Norman, Myer, and JB HiFi have struggled with their share prices on the ASX as analysts brutally cut sales assumptions. Stock prices have been in a lull.

RIO has completed the sale of the Coal & Allied business in Australia for $2.7b US announced today an off market buyback to eligible shareholders. RIO has already announced a $500m buyback to be completed by the end of 2017. The off-market buyback is $700m AUD, and this will be followed with an additional $1.9b USD of on-market purchases.

Why is there such a disparate gender gap in Advice? An article on Commsec's The Front Foot publication points to research by Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA) and Financial Executive Women (FEW) which shows women currently make up just 20 percent of the financial advising profession. The data from Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) shows women make up 55.7 percent of the financial and insurance services industry, and that the 1-in-5 figure is abysmal. The Advice industry typically offers flexible work hours with significant earning potential along with the opportunity to positively impact lives. These tend to be some key points for women in choosing careers. The problem may actually come down to not educating young girls about possible career options early. The 2014 Allstate Foundation survey shows the inherent biases between males and females when it comes to money. Most startlingly it shows how parenting creates different rules for gender. Does this then mean Industry needs to work harder to explain options to kids?  Yes.  A 15 year old girl may not be thinking about when she will be planning career breaks to have children. But she certainly should be more aware about jobs and roles that exist where she can either work for herself or within an organisation, earn well, help people with life decisions, and have the option of flexibility down the track. Both parents and Industry need to rethink their approach to money and children.