Over the next five years, more than 670,000 Australians intend to retire, taking the total to almost five million retirees, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). A check of how often the word ‘retirement’ is searched for on Google over the past 10 years has shown a recent and sustained spike. (read more)
July 2023 - Snapshot
Welcome to our July newsletter and, with a new financial year underway, it might be a good opportunity to review some of the recent changes to business and investment rules to make sure you’re on the right track.
Whether you’re an employee or now retired, the latest super changes are likely to affect you.
In a round-up of the new and upcoming changes we look at the Superannuation Guarantee payment for employees, the minimum pension drawdown, the transfer balance cap, the ‘downsizer contribution’ when you sell your home and the First Home Super Save Scheme.
Keep your super on track with our guide to the new rules.
Federal Budget 2023 - 2024
In his second Budget, Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced the first budget surplus in 15 years along with a plan for security, prosperity and growth. With a focus on providing support to those struggling with cost of living pressures, he has aimed to balance the need for immediate support for those who need it most, while keeping an eye on the future particularly as we face stormy global economic outlook. (Read more…)
April 2023 - Snapshot
Welcome to our April snapshot and, as the days are getting shorter, there’s definitely a bit of a nip in the air.
While temperatures may be cooling, the financial markets are continuing to generate some heat as investors keep a close eye on activities in Australia and overseas.
In particular, the regular increases in official interest rates are causing major concerns for those with mortgages and loans. On the other hand, some investors are cheering the rate rises such as those with significant cash investments who are now seeing larger returns.
In this snapshot, we take a look at the inside story of interest rates and how they affect your investments.
You can read our April snapshot here.
Federal Budget October 2022 - 2023
Budget October 2022: sign of the times In his first Budget, Treasurer Jim Chalmers emphasised the three Rs – responsible budget repair and restrained spending, right for the times. For good measure, resilience also got a mention with spending targeted at building a more modern economy to deal with the challenges ahead. This...(read more)
Three reasons to stay the course
Markets have moved with such speed and velocity in both directions since the beginning of the COVID outbreak it has been difficult for investors to adjust with so much conflicting information being circulated. (Read more)
Winter 2022 - Newsletter
June has arrived and so has winter, as the financial year draws to a close. Now that the federal election is out of the way, it’s time to focus on planning for the future with more certainty. (Read more)
Federal Budget 2022 - 2023
A balancing act
Billed as a Budget for families with a focus on relieving short-term cost of living pressures, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s fourth Budget also has one eye firmly on the federal election in May. Read more
2021 Federal Budget Summary
In his third and possibly last Budget before the next federal election, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is counting on a new wave of spending to ensure Australia’s economic recovery maintains its momentum. Read more:
2020 Federal Budget Summary
Six simple charts on what to expect from shares
After the initial sharp market falls in February as a result of COVID and a subsequent rebound over the past few weeks, things are starting to get bumpy again. This is not unexpected. In fact, historically during these periods of volatility and uncertainty it is quite common to see this sort of “up and down” market behavior persist.
2019 Federal Budget Summary
Volatility: Seven Simple Lessons
Renewed volatility in markets has awoken the media from its slumber. News directors drag out dated file footage of frantic traders and summon talking head experts to explain to ‘mums and dads’ what it all means. Well, what does it mean? More importantly, does it matter?
But the key point for long-term investors is that markets are volatile by nature. Stocks go up and down as information and expectations change. Sometimes, this happens very gradually. Other times it happens more suddenly. Volatility is the price we pay to gain access to longer term higher returns than those associated with so-called safe assets such as cash. Volatility is a normal and expected part of the market.
2018 Federal Budget Summary
Is Bitcoin all it's cracked up to be?
It seems everyone is excited about Bitcoin at the moment – in either a positive or negative sense. For as many out there espousing it’s virtues there seems to be just as many labelling it as a bubble and as an accident just waiting to happen.
Whilst the underlying technology is potentially game changing and worthwhile, its other attributes do concern me. The exact things that make bitcoin attractive – anonymity, ease of transfer from one party to another, lack of government oversight, accessible in any country without capital controls, not subject to banking regulations – are denounced by national governments. Think of everything governments stand to lose.
2017 Federal Budget
I hope this post budget morning finds you well. Please find the attached summary of the major announcements from last nights Federal Budget. As always, the devil is in the detail and so we will be reviewing the budget more closely over the coming days as more information is made available. We will also cover off on any issues that we believe will impact on your financial situation and advise accordingly.
Upcoming changes to Age Pension
Are you aware if you are getting a raw deal from the bank?
I wrote to you earlier this year about the raw deal we keep seeing our clients, their family and friends are getting from the banks. I’m writing again now to reiterate that unfortunately we are still seeing the same old problem. Every week I see cases where people are paying thousands more than they should be in excess fees and interest rates on their home loans. And this usually also adds years to their mortgage unnecessarily.