Managed funds, Listed Companies or ETF’s?

One of the debates raging in the post GFC financial world concerns the relative advantages and disadvantages of investment structures. For example, many people have decided that “managed funds” are expensive, opaque and have bad returns. At the same time, there has been a substantial lift in the funds being invested into “Listed Investment Companies … Read more

Will my children be able to afford a home?

What housing options will be available for my children?

This is a common question i am asked by parents who are keen to see that their children get the same (hopefully better!) opportunities in life that they had. It’s not one of my worries, and i’ll share with you the reasons why i consider home affordability to be one of the least concerns for my children’s future. … Read more

Your children, and the world of money

Little Adelaide O'Hara

With all the gloomy news about falling retail sales, declining house prices, and small business access to credit, the average person can be forgiven for thinking that “things are bad”. In times such as this, it is natural for a parent to worry about the world that their children will inherit, and the financial problems … Read more

Financial Planning – DON’T PANIC

When all else fails, fail to panic

Famous words, made all the more famous’er by the late but very great Douglas Adams, in his 4 book trilogy “Hitch-hikers Guide to the Galaxy” (although the actual number of books that make up the trilogy is subject to some dispute). Douglas Adams was referring to the great cosmic guidebook produced by Megadodo Publications. “It … Read more

A little bit of perspective on money

Sometimes you'd just rather be somewhere else

There is a pointy-end of physics that studies the impact observations have on processes. One version is encompassed by the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. It is my thought that this principle should be applied to the world of money, as much as it is applied to quantum physics. Here’s why… It implies that it is impossible to simultaneously measure … Read more

2012 – At the crossroads

Hercules at the Crossroads by Carracci

    2012 is definitely lining up to be a watershed year, in which some of the global monetary tensions built up over the past 4 years finally work themselves out. The big question, of course, is exactly how these monetary pressures will resolve. Panic Buy or Panic Sell? In my role as a financial … Read more

Financial Planning Bias

It’s the new year, and financial planning as an industry is headed pretty much where previous posts have suggested. Happy New Year! Today, we are going to continue to investigate the ins and outs of bias as it stands in the financial planning industry in Australia. Pour a cup of your favourite brew and let’s get … Read more