Podcast News Wrap For 22 July 2020
Appointments
Fidelity Life has promoted Todd Allan to the role of Head of Adviser Distribution. He joined the firm in 2018 and was previously its Key Distribution Partnerships manager.
Allan’s appointment fills the vacancy created by Craig Winterburn who left Fidelity Life to join adviser group Share.
Cigna New Zealand has appointed Tony Lane as its Chief Risk Officer – a newly-created role at the firm. Lane has banking and financial services sector experience, and has worked as Chief Risk Officer at both the China Construction Bank and BNZ Retail.
Poll result
Should financial advisers disclose all soft commissions to clients? That was the question RiskInfo NZ posed last week and the response so far is 50-50. In one of the closest results in the history of Risk Info polls, 53% of you said yes, 44% voted no, and 3% are not sure. There’s still time to cast your vote.
Should advisers be required to disclose all soft dollar incentives they receive?
- Yes (53%)
- No (45%)
- Not sure (1%)
Loading ...Money week
Financial advisers operating in Hamilton can join Financial Advice NZ and the FMA at The Base Mall during Money Week – which runs from 10 to 16 August. Representatives from both organisations will be at the mall on Saturday 15 August to talk to shoppers about all things financial advice.
Infections down
The Southern Cross Medical Library has seen a 65 per cent drop in website traffic to a dozen of its infectious diseases pages in the past three months, when compared with the same period last year.
The decreases, says the organisation, correspond with the period New Zealand was in lockdown and encouraged to follow physical distancing and hygiene practices.
Cost of Covid
The Covid-19 pandemic will cost global insurance companies an estimated US$55 billion (NZ$83 billion) according to a report by Swiss Re. However, the firm is quick to point out the industry is well placed to absorb the losses.
Swiss Re says Covid-19 is a lesson for insurers and policy makers who, in the interest of long-term societal and economic stability, should develop more public-private partnership solutions for pandemic risks.