Thoughts on money, from a Financial Planner in Perth
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
“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
“Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country” – John F Kennedy’s powerful call for Americans to put aside self-interest, and strive to build a better nation. This is what I think the Federal Government has asked Australians to do when judging its 2016 Budget … Read more
What is Australia’s cheapest super fund? Should fees be the sole basis for choosing a super fund?
In my role as a financial planner i am often asked questions about the retiring age in Australia. There is no simple answer – the age differs according to where your focus is – superannuation, tax or government age pension income support. Here’s a quick look at different versions of the retiring age in Australia.
Let’s consider just how many ways super and pension accounts are misrepresented or misunderstood.
D-Day for pensioners is approaching With important new deeming rules coming into effect on 1 January 2015, now is the time to review your superannuation and pension arrangements to ensure you don’t miss out on valuable Social Security entitlements. Pension deeming after 1 January 2015 will change Account based pensions have generally been given favourable … Read more
Many super funds have had a reasonably good year these last 12 months. This will likely trigger a barrage of adverts and promotions that boast of this or that return beating this or that benchmark. Higher Super Fund Returns The point of this post though, is to look at super fund returns from a different … Read more
“Risk on, risk off” is a phrase used to denote the massive trading shifts taking place at institutional levels in the post-GFC (“global financial crisis”) world. The phrase encapsulates the skittish approach investors have taken to the day-to-day news and data feeds that are highlighted on the evening finance news segment. The question for us … Read more
Global themes will impact all money plans for the future. Have you thought about your financial future in this context? Will you have to change any of your plans?