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Old age can be associated with declining cognitive abilities and the development of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. These conditions generally result in a reduced ability to make sound financial decisions, that is, a reduced financial capacity. This reduction is an important issue for financial planners, but reduced financial capacity is often difficult to detect. Moreover, severe legal consequences can result for financial planners who provide what is later deemed to be inappropriate financial advice to clients with these conditions. Consequently, this article aims to help financial planners understand this condition and the actions to take when it is detected.
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Challenges Facing Financial Planners Advising Ageing Clients with Diminished Financial Capacity

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This study considers one of the cornerstone questions in the retirement income debate; namely, what’s a safe withdrawal rate for retirement? This question is of particular importance to Australia’s superannuation system, which is characterised by having compulsory contributions during the retirement saving (or accumulation) phase, but no compulsory requirement to annuitise lump sums at the commencement of the retirement income (or distribution/decumulation) phase. As a result, many retirees face a classic asset–liability mismatch, the need to fund relatively short- and medium-term retirement spending needs with a long-term investment strategy. This study tests one of the most popular heuristics that have arisen from the safe withdrawal debate, specifically the 4% rule. Our findings question the validity of this approach using historical international return data.
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Just How Safe are ‘Safe Withdrawal Rates’ in Retirement?

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Financial literacy or financial capability is widely agreed as being funda mental for financial wellbeing (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="j_fprj-2015-0003_ref_019">Clitheroe 2004</xref>; <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="j_fprj-2015-0003_ref_051">Worthington 2008</xref>). This is particularly relevant in 21st century Australia, where the government’s policy of self-funded retirement is a critically important issue. Previous research undertaken by the Australian and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) in Australia, suggests when it comes to financial matters, a large proportion of the population have insufficient levels of the financial knowledge and skills needed to manage their finances into the future. Australia’s Indigenous population has been identified in the ANZ surveys as one of the groups, most at risk. Whilst education programs have been put in place to address these findings, subsequent studies in relation to Australians Indigenous population continues to demonstrate the poorest levels of financial literacy, with little to no identifiable improvement in measured skills over successive studies (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="j_fprj-2015-0003_ref_008">ANZ 2003</xref>; <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="j_fprj-2015-0003_ref_009">2005</xref>; <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="j_fprj-2015-0003_ref_010">2008</xref>; <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="j_fprj-2015-0003_ref_011">2011</xref> and <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="j_fprj-2015-0003_ref_012">2014</xref>).
Generally, traditional Indigenous culture is dominated by family and tribe rather than personal wealth gratification; in particular these cultural values relating to money are in direct contrast to western societal values. Our research paper, the first in a series, raises two questions. Firstly is the conflict between western and Indigenous culture an overlooked factor and might go some way to explaining the poor financial literacy levels among Australia’s Indigenous population. Secondly, this paper raises questions that were highlighted in the existing literature as to the content and design of currently offered educational programs that are targeted at Indigenous Australians.
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The Conflict Between Financial Decision Making and Indigenous Australian Culture

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Credit card debt has become intrinsic to the way of life and are accepted as part of modern day living. This paper examines to what extent personal budgeting can influence the effective use of Australian credit card debt. The findings suggest that the most effective credit card debtors are those who consider they do not need a budget due to low income and expenses followed by those without a budget but often earning in excess of $180,000 p.a. Participants with the lowest effective use of credit card debt are those who do have a budget but rarely follow it.
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A (W)hole in the Financial Budget: Budgeting’s Influence on the Effective Use of Credit Card Debt in Australia

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This study aims to understand the prevailing literature which examined the effect of past performance of funds, risk of the funds, choice of fund legislation and the global financial crisis on the fund flows among the different asset classes in Australia. The empirical findings of previous studies document that retail funds are more sensitive to the past performance of funds than those of wholesale segment. These studies further argue that risk of the funds seems to be ineffective in explaining the fund flows. Findings also report that the choice of fund legislation has resulted in attracting more funds into the managed funds. Finally, in the post global financial crisis period, there is a significant inflow of funds into the managed and equity funds.
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Understanding the Relationship Between Fund Flows and Past Performance in Australian Managed Funds

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Financial Planning Research Journal

The Financial Planning Research Journal (FPRJ) is a peer-reviewed open-access journal that publishes original, applied, and topical research articles to aid understanding of the practice and policy of financial planning in Australia. Published on behalf of the Financial Advice Association Australia, our articles span topics including behavioural finance, economics, finance, financial advice, financial literacy, financial education, financial planning, financial regulation, insurance, investment, retirement, and related disciplines. The journal also includes articles from the education, ethics, law, and psychology fields where they relate to financial planning and advice.  FPRJ provides an academic platform to discuss issues around personal financial planning and wealth management, changes in the financial planning industry, and professionalism in personal finance.  Published twice a year, FPRJ focuses on matters of interest to the financial advice community that will inform the practice and/or policy of the profession. FPRJ’s readership includes academic researchers, educators, practitioners, and policymakers. FPRJ articles are included on reading lists for university students, as continuing professional development for practitioners, and as preparatory resources for the National Financial Adviser exam in Australia.  While the journal has its origins in Australia, FPRJ encourages international submissions as it seeks to expand the body of knowledge in financial advice and financial planning and contribute to the development of financial planning as a profession.  Archiving Sciendo archives the contents of this journal in Portico - digital long-term preservation service of scholarly books, journals and collections. Plagiarism Policy The editorial board is participating in a growing community of Similarity Check System users to ensure that the content published is original and trustworthy. Similarity Check is a medium that allows for comprehensive manuscript screening, aimed to eliminate plagiarism and provide a high standard and quality peer-review process.