Mike Taylor
Mike Taylor is the founder, managing editor and publisher of Financial Newswire, covering the regulation, superannuation and wealth sectors through tightly focused news and analysis that link enforcement action to commercial outcomes. His reporting centres on how supervisors, platforms and large funds interact, with particular attention to formal actions, structural shifts and the financial impact on institutions and advisers.
APRA performance tests and super fund concentration
Taylor devotes a significant share of his coverage to the prudential regulator’s oversight of superannuation funds. In pieces such as “APRA should now temper its performance test enthusiasm” he examines the design and application of performance tests, probing how regulatory zeal intersects with industry stability and member outcomes.
He tracks structural shifts in the sector through data-driven stories like “22 super funds control 93.2% of AUM”, where the focus is on concentration of assets and the policy questions that follow for competition and supervision. His articles on APRA’s own operations, including “Fewer staff and contractors lead to APRA $45.2m surplus”, highlight the regulator’s resourcing and budget position as part of the wider regulatory environment the industry operates within. Taylor also follows the escalation of supervisory tools, as seen in “APRA canvasses being given sanctions power” and “The questions which preceded APRA's First Super action”, mapping out how new powers and early engagement with trustees feed into eventual enforcement. Across these pieces he writes in a direct, procedural style, emphasising timelines, formal steps and the specific mechanisms APRA uses rather than broad commentary about regulation in the abstract.
AMP adviser class action and advice ownership
On the advice side of the market, Taylor’s recurring subject is the intersection of legal risk, ownership structures and adviser economics. “$1.895m security sought within AMP adviser class action” drills into court processes, security for costs and the exposure of large licensees, showing a preference for concrete figures and procedural detail over colour. In “AMP's 30% advice stake eventually owned by advisers” he follows how equity in advice businesses shifts from institutions to practitioners, framing the story around deal terms and the long-term redistribution of ownership.
His coverage extends to the professional architecture around advisers, with “Why the AFA and FPA merger makes good sense” setting out the rationale and implications of combining associations, focusing on representation, scale and advocacy rather than personality or politics. Platform economics and adviser pricing run through “BT Panorama to remove historical individual fee deals”, where Taylor documents the removal of legacy arrangements and their impact on clients and practices.
The same platform theme appears in “Panorama delivers for Westpac result”, which links technology and platform performance directly to bank earnings. These stories together show a reporter who treats advisers as commercial actors operating under intense regulatory and legal pressure, and who explains how class actions, fee reforms and association mergers affect their balance sheets as much as their compliance burden.
Diversa, Praemium and managed account growth
Taylor’s funds management reporting often starts from a specific proceeding or data release and builds out the implications for platforms and trustees. In “Diversa looks to Praemium on First Guardian” he details how Diversa Trustees has issued cross-claims involving Praemium, PowerWrap and OneVue in the context of Australian Securities and Investments Commission action over First Guardian investments.
The story walks through notices of cross-claim, dispute resolution provisions and the absence of direct ASIC claims against the platform businesses, underscoring his focus on the precise legal posture of each party.
“Morningstar's GDG analysis foresees slower MA growth” exemplifies his use of third‑party research, using Morningstar analysis to explain expected changes in managed account growth and what that means for providers and advisers. Company performance and capital markets enter his beat through pieces such as “Macquarie posts solid Q3”, where the emphasis is on quarterly numbers, business unit contributions and how current results align with broader strategic themes. Taken together, his funds and markets stories keep attention on product governance, platform obligations and the way litigation, analysis and earnings reports signal shifts in the wealth ecosystem.
Shaping Financial Newswire’s agenda
Alongside his reporting, Taylor plays a central role in setting the masthead’s direction.
Financial Newswire was established in 2021, and a later piece, “MBO sees Financial Newswire change hands”, records that it became independent through a management buy-out led by its founder and managing editor, Mike Taylor. In that story he sets out the outlet’s ambition as a standalone media organisation with a defined growth strategy, reflecting his dual responsibility for editorial content and the business itself.
This ownership structure underpins a consistent focus on professional audiences in superannuation, advice, life insurance and funds management, with coverage anchored in regulatory processes, industry governance and the financial performance of key institutions. Taylor’s bylines across super, platforms, legal actions and association politics reveal a preference for concise, news-led pieces that nonetheless flag strategic consequences for trustees, licensees and product manufacturers.
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