Risk Company Updates
/Company Updates
FPA announces new partnerships
The Financial Planning Association (FPA) is partnering with Kaplan Professional and RMIT University in a program set to combine the certified financial planner (CFP) certification program with a Master of Financial Planning degree. The FPA already has a similar arrangement, allowing professional study requirements to be within the same course, in place with Deakin Business School.
At Kaplan, the CFP certification program will be included as an elective option within the Master of Financial Planning, with the degree mapped against CFP certification units. Kaplan Professional has enrolled for its June/July intake, while RMIT will commence enrolments soon for first semester 2021.
Class supplying Xplan data feeds
Financial adviser software Xplan has secured a data feed with Class for self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) investments. Class has integrated its data feeds with Xplan so advisers now have a single view of SMSF and non-SMSF investments of clients. The data feed will include up-to-date information investments held within Class, included unlisted assets like direct property, alleviating manual data entry tasks in either software.
The data feed will also contain cash transaction types pre-matched by Class to events such as pension payments, contributions and income to allow for easier identification. Xplan users can filter which information they receive from Class, for example, if they are drawing data from another source. Class said the integration is likely to save four hours on report production and up to eight hours on the production of advice documents per client.
CBA to offer new digital services in joint venture
Two strategic partners have been announced by Commonwealth Bank (CBA) in the delivery of a new digital banking service being rolled out to 15 million retail and business customers. CBA is putting $10 million into the most recent funds for Square Peg and Zetta Venture Partners to support sourcing, scaling and financing of local fintech startups, while also supporting emerging artificial intelligence companies within Australia. CBA’s X15 Ventures has announced a fourth new venture, Backr. Backr offers a digital task-based approach to setting up a small business, with step-by-step instructions for new business owners.
