In this week’s episode of Relative Return Insider, AMP chief economist Shane Oliver joins the show to discuss Australia’s stagnating productivity ahead of the government’s economic reform roundtable, and how picking all the “low-hanging fruit” for reform in the ’90s helped kick off a surge that has since stalled out.

Oliver outlines several key areas to boost productivity, advocating for tax reform – specifically reducing reliance on income tax and increasing the GST, while also addressing taxes like stamp duty – and deregulation of product and labour markets, incentivising business investment through the tax system, and enhancing competition across a range of industries

Tune in to hear:

• How the ongoing erratic tariff announcements and the claims from trade deals are hard to rely on.
• Whether the complacency of markets is cause for concern.
• Why the latest inflation figures bode well for further interest rate cuts.

In this episode of The ifa Show, host Keith Ford is joined by Charlie Viola, the executive chairman of Viola Private Wealth, to discuss how private markets allow his firm to better deliver on the increasingly complex needs of its ultra-high-net-worth client base.

As private markets continue to emerge as a key tool for diversification, Viola suggests that investment vehicles, such as managed accounts, can allow advisers to access and utilise private markets without the need for complex, in-house investment functions.

Listen as they discuss:

• How private markets can play a key role in long-term investment planning.
• Why more choices can be a “double-edged sword” for advisers.
• The challenge of keeping clients focused when an asset performs above expectations.

• Why tailored ransom demands and the dark web ecosystem of services like ransomware-as-a-service are on the rise.
• Case studies of recent cyber attacks, including the Qantas data breach, and the importance of rapid and transparent incident response.

• The concept of third-party risk and the legal implications for companies, as highlighted by ASIC’s lawsuit against Fortnum Private Wealth.