News

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.

Apple's diversity champion resigned this week, one month after making controversial assertions that white males can be diverse. When Apple hired Denise Young Smith as Vice President of Diversity & Inclusion in May 2017, it was the first time in their approximately 40 year old history that they have recognised and hired someone to focus on this area. It was a watershed moment.

The ASX bounced a solid 4% this month as Quarter 3 business conditions lifted to new post-GFC highs. The Jobs market recorded strong 3.3% y/y growth, which helped unemployment fall to 5.5% (a 4 year low). The jobs growth is now the fastest since 2008.

If you own shares at the moment, you are probably reading the news and wondering whether you should be happy with property prices and stock markets hitting all-time highs (especially in the USA), or concerned that markets are about to experience a major correction.

Yawn… the ASX200 has pretty much done nothing for the past 1 month, 3 and 6 months.