Michael O'Hara

Michael O'Hara is a Financial Planner operating out of a boutique advisory service in East Perth, Western Australia.

Debunking Financial Planner Myths: Why You Might Need One

Australia's cheapest super or is it
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Do you ever catch yourself saying, “I don’t need a financial planner”? You’re not alone. Many Australians hold onto this belief, often due to misconceptions about financial planners and the services they offer. Let’s address some of these common assumptions head-on. So, why might you actually need a financial planner, even if you think you…

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Financial Planner Bias

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Here’s a Michael’s Musings look at financial planner bias from the perspective of the a financial planner. Why financial planner bias? Because financial planner bias is a key issue driving commentary, legislation and daily financial planner activity today.  Community perceptions and assumptions of financial planners have changed over the years, with the decades-long battles between bank…

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Super funds fail the performance test

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Results released in August this year showed that 13 super funds failed to meet the new super performance test. The funds have been forced to write to their members, informing them of this failure and suggesting they consider other funds. There are over 1 million super members involved and around 7% have since swapped out…

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Link

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Here’s a link to my latest Facebook post – today’s topic is the release of the latest Chart Pack from the Reserve Bank of Australia. It’s not as boring as it sounds – there’s a bucket of interesting information on the world of money surrounding you right now.

Want the big picture of the Australian economy right now – in pictures?The Reserve Bank of Australia has released the…

Posted by Michael's Musings on Tuesday, 6 August 2019
A link to my Facebook post on some key trends in the Australian economy.

Even if you don’t usually like financial detail, there’s bound to be something of interest for you somewhere in this update. After all, it’s Australia’s economy in pictures – and you are part of that economy. It impacts you, and to a lesser extent, you impact it – every day!

Enjoy your day, and your reading!

I’ve included a photo of some boys celebrating the release of the RBA Chart Pack. Look how happy they are. It’s fun stuff.

[ Photo brilliantly taken by Robert Collins on Unsplash ]
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Long term super returns to explode higher!*

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Long term super fund returns are about to explode higher!* Yes folks, we are about to enter a period where the longer term super fund returns will look very good indeed. At least – significantly better than they were in fund reports of just two years ago. Here’s the secret that will make long term…

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Fraud and Malice

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Be ever wary for the possibility of fraud and malice!

Today I received a scam phone call, from criminals trying to extort money by claiming to be the Australian Taxation Office.

These scum forced vulnerable people to pay them over $800,000 in November last year alone. They must be stopped.

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Grandfathered commissions explained

grandfathered commissions michaelsmusings ozan-safak-476758-unsplash
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Grandfathered commissions is a term that is receiving a lot of airplay at the moment through the Royal Commission. The term is used so often and to cover so many different concepts that I thought it might be helpful to spend some time discussing just what “grandfathered commissions” actually refers to. It’s also helpful to…

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