A new toolkit to help women enhance their financial wellbeing, and a report on licensing decisions are among the initiatives announced by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission this month.
The ‘Women’s Money Toolkit’ is a free, online resource, designed to help women manage their finances and make money decisions at key life stages.
Available via ASIC’s MoneySmart website, the Toolkit provides tailored financial guidance for life events such as having a baby, caring for others, buying a home, illness and disability and/or family breakdown. It also contains new online tools that demonstrate the impact that taking time out of paid work will have on current and longer term financial situations.
…many women are key money managers particularly in the family and often have to deal with a range of specific financial challenges
ASIC Commissioner, Cathie Armour, said the kit had been developed in response to research that suggests there are differences in the way that women and men generally interact with finances, indicating the need for a tailored approach to financial education.
“We know that many women are key money managers particularly in the family and often have to deal with a range of specific financial challenges. For example, women aged 60 to 64 have on average $104, 734 in their super balance, while men have $197,734,” Ms Armour said.
“This new resource, which we have developed in partnership with the Office for Women, will help women plan and make decisions about their finances, and is an excellent addition to our financial literacy program.”
The regulator has also released its first report on its approach to license applications, revealing that in the period between July and December 2014, it cancelled 120 Australian Financial Services (AFS) licenses, suspended another eight, and refused nine new AFS applications.
However, only 16 of the cancelled licenses were as a result of action initiated by ASIC. The majority of cancellations were made at the request of the licensee because they ceased to conduct a financial services business.
According to the report, more than 400 new AFS licenses were granted during the period, from a total of 649 applications processed by the regulator. The majority of applications were approved with additional conditions imposed, such as additional responsible manager requirements.
ASIC said that while there were only nine applications refused, 103 applications were withdrawn before the regulator had to make a formal determination. ASIC’s report noted that the number of refused applications would have been much higher had these withdrawn applications proceeded.
ASIC Deputy Chairman, Peter Kell, said the report was intended to assist applicants, current licensees and professional registrants better understand ASIC’s assessment of applications and highlight areas of specific focus, to improve overall and ongoing compliance.
“The report is part of ASIC’s ongoing commitment to providing greater public information about our regulatory activities. The outcomes in this report demonstrate ASIC’s commitment to ensuring financial services and credit licensees, professional registrants and other licensees meet their key obligations, including minimum standards of compliance, supervision and conduct,” Mr Kell said.
“In approving applications, ASIC may impose additional conditions on, and/or make adjustments to the original licence application. Further, we may refuse a licence application if we are not satisfied that the applicant can offer financial or credit services in compliance with the legal obligations.”
