Financial Planning Perth

General discussion on the activities of a financial planner and their clients, as well as comment on broad industry trends and practices.

Portfolio Perspectives : When Experts Disagree

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When experts disagree Michaels Musings Photo by @zmachacek on Unsplash.com

Should you hold more Australian shares, or more American? It’s a question that sounds simple enough. But ask six experienced investment professionals and you’ll get six different answers—often contradicting each other directly. One argues that up to 87% of apparent US outperformance disappears when you adjust for currency movements. Another insists the US dominates global … Read more

Is the ‘Warren Buffett Indicator’ Flashing a Buy Signal?

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is the warren buffett indicator flashing a buy in 2025? when cash earns nothing michaelsmusings frankie-cordoba-UfRLtAHHaP8-unsplash

An Australian Financial Review article yesterday claimed that it was. So let’s use this as an example of how to look at news articles on financial matters—but from a financial planner’s viewpoint. What the Article Says The heart of the article is covered in the opening two paragraphs: “A key valuation metric touted by legendary … Read more

Balanced, you say?

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Balanced Super Fund: What Does It Really Mean? A traditional balance scale tipped unevenly, labelled "Balanced" – symbolising imbalance in a balanced super fund.

“When the system calls itself balanced, check who built the scales.” When is ‘Balanced’.. balanced? If you’re a member of a balanced super fund, this is a moment to ask what that really means in practical terms. “Balanced” super fund members will soon be finding out just how ‘balanced’ their fund is—or is not. I’m … Read more

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 … Read more

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 … Read more

Grandfathered commissions explained

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grandfathered commissions michaelsmusings ozan-safak-476758-unsplash

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 … Read more