Welcome to Michael's Musings.

Financial Planning is all about understanding money. There is a never ending stream of data being thrown at us all in this increasingly technologically-fed world but in many cases, all that extra data does is to add to the 'noise'.

Here at Michael's Musings, a Perth planner will help you sort out the real information in amongst all that noise. Feedback and comment cheerfully received, even if sometimes ignored. To log-in using your Facebook, LinkedIn or other network ID, please click this image.

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Financial Planning in Perth

Financial Planning

What does the term "Financial Planning" mean to you? Everyone seems to have a different take on just what financial planning entails and what Financial Planners actually do. This is actually quite logical, as understanding money involves far more than understanding one single issue. Therefore, expect financial planners to vary considerably in what they do, how they do it, the scope of strategies they can utilise, which products (if any) they are allowed to use towards meeting your objectives, and the levels of fees and bias that you will encounter along the way.

The Federal Government regulator, ASIC, has invested a lot of money to provide broader knowledge on understanding money, including the role of financial planners. The website MoneySmart provides a raft of such information. It's a great place to start learning about financial planning - aside from this website, of course!

The Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA) has a website providing information on what financial planners do, which standards members of the FPA must adhere to, and links to finding a Financial Planner near you.

Understanding Money

There's more to this than meets the eye. I've been in the industry for nearly 30 years, and wouldn't consider myself proficient in much more than the occasional slice of the entire financial sector, so how does the non-financial person cope? Financial planners can help but at best, they are but a guide. You will only understand money by taking the effort to either learn or do. Having a financial planner looking over your shoulder during this process can be helpful but that is very much a case of finding someone that you are comfortable with, and taking the time to understand and discuss their particular attitudes, bias and preferences.

Over time, we will add links and stories to this site to cover more tools to help you understand money, financial planning, fees and bias - and how they impact on you.

Trading

Active trading of investments is one method of trying to maximise returns. It is however, very difficult to implement successfully, as investor behaviour and the deluge of related data can make decisions very difficult. The focus of this area is the Australian sharemarket and its daily gyrations.

Protected: Trading Update

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September 1, 2009

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Protected: Michael’s Musings – Short Term Recovery Strategy

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August 10, 2009

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Protected: Trader’s Update – The next turning point?

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August 6, 2009

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Protected: Trading Update 20 July 2009

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July 20, 2009

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Protected: The Trader’s View

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July 16, 2009

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Protected: What would a Trader do?

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July 13, 2009

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Pidgin Economics

Financial Planning is all about understanding money. The problem is that traditional financial planning is all about your Financial Planner understanding money, and your simply agreeing with whatever it is that they are telling you. How do i know this? i know that this is the case because i am an avid reader of all things financial, and my role as an active Financial Planner in Perth, Western Australia, keeps me up-to-date with the latest trends on what is happening in Western Australia. Constant contact with other planning professionals, and with employees, representatives and management of major financial institutions, helps to bring about a fairly wide picture of how things stand at any given point in time. If there is a "zeitgeist" to financial planning (and i am referring to the "spirit of the times" definition and not the popular conspiracy theory video) then right now that would be a spirit of Inquisition. That's not all good, by the way. Financial Planners and the financial planning world are under the microscope in a way that has not happened before. Fees and bias are being raised in a negative sense, with very little perspective or history being presented to help the average person understand money or how the financial planning world works - and that is a bad thing, as legislative changes as well as consumer group pressure, are combining to fundamentally alter the fabric of financial planning in Australia. All change is not always for the better, and Financial Planning will not necessarily involve less fees and bias in the future. If anything, the changes to legislation for financial planning operators is already working towards a greater reduction in choice and clarity. Bias driven by commercial arrangements are being hidden even further, as financial planning groups take positions in financial products to gain some financial exposure to investment and superannuation funds flows. The term "independent" is mistakenly assumed to mean "free of bias", and that is a mistake that is made by legislators, consumer groups, consumers and even financial planners. This site aims to bring about a greater understanding of money and the financial planning world. It's not a destination but a journey, and not a short one at that. If you are interested in financial planning (especially Perth financial planning) then spend a while to get to know this site, and i believe you will learn far more than you expect. If you do not, click on the "contact" links and tell me where we fall short. I assure you that all input will be attended to and considered. - Michael O'Hara
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