ON population proportions, WA financial planners have again come out tops in the Personal Investor Masterclass exams.
ON population proportions, WA financial planners have again come out tops in the Personal Investor Masterclass exams.
Ten WA planners were in the first 50 place-getters following the magazine’s annual assessment of planners’ technical and regulatory knowledge.
AMP’s WA operations featured in the whiz list, with three names – Christian Golding, Ian Wickens (Wickens Financial Services, operating under the AMP dealer’s licence) and Paul Rowbottam.
Godfrey Pembroke (Exchange Plaza) is boasting two entries on the top-50 list – Christopher Craggs and Pauline Flynn – as is JB Were, with Danielle Hunt and Claudio Lopresti.
Other proud and worthy WA names making the top-50 list are Stuart Fulton (Self Funded Retirement Planners), Dean Watson (Perpetual Trustees) and Deborah Whiting (Whitings Financial Services).
Messrs Golding, Wickens and Rowbottam could no doubt advise on the technicalities of AMP’s latest managed investment fund, the Flexible Lifetime Investments trust.
This trust, incorporating 23 funds, is the final member of the trilogy that includes Australia’s largest retail superannuation trust, Flexible Lifetime Superannuation, and an allocated pension fund.
Morningstar last week downgraded AMP Life/AMP Superannuation Limited/AMP Henderson Global Investors from four stars to three.
This rating is equivalent to “good quality fund manager”.
Gleneagle readies for takeoff
A NEW WA gold explorer should be trading on the ASX by the end of the month.
Gleneagle Gold closed its $5 million offer at the end of last week, following an extension earlier this month.
The offer was set up with a potential extension by a further $1 million, but managing director Ian Prentice said minimum subscription of $4.5 million had been achieved.
Meanwhile, the newly opened magnetic treatments Medec Limited offer has reportedly attracted “some quite good enquiries”, and is “building momentum”.
Stockbroker for the $3.5 million 50 cents-per-share offer, State One Stockbroking, was busy last week doing presentations on the east coast.
State One managing director Alan Hill said the targets were smaller investors and a few funds, and the company was chasing “400 names and $2 million”.
Medec CEO Josef Plattner wants to acquire up to three German alternative medical treatment companies, but must be listed in Australia to do this.
Oilex has extended its IPO by a month, and Berkeley Resources has again extended its offer, this time to September, following some changes at the top.
Property tops for capital
INSURANCE raised more capital than any other Australian GICS industry sector in the 2002-03 financial year, KPMG Corporate Finance has reported.
The premier ranking was influenced by AMP’s recapitalising.
Coming in at number two were the listed property sectors and materials, raising $4.4 billion each. Listed property held a 40 per cent lead on all sectors for raisings during the 2001-03 period, coming in with a $10.9 billion tally.
However, this shows that for 2002-03, listed property was down $2.3 billion on the previous year.
Materials, which takes in the minerals sector, was up $1.1 billion on 2001-02.
Transportation was down double this amount, raising $2.6 billion and $4.8 billion in 2002-03 and 2001-02, respectively. The banks raised $2.3 billion in the financial year just ended, up from $1.8 billion in 2001-02.
Slick trades off Dongara
EXPECT further rationalisation of equities in some offshore Perth Basin permits near Dongara, ahead of next summer’s drilling program and an earlier announcement confirming commercial development of Cliff Head.
Voyager Energy has let it be known it is keen for more of the offshore action, at the right price, and another junior has reportedly signalled its intention to offload some equity.
