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‘Tis the season to make forecasts. As we approach the end of the year, newsroom staffing dwindles and editors look for space fillers to keep the readers happy. Yes, here come the investment “outlooks” again. Each year at this time, the financial pages are filled with “investment outlooks” that tell us what we can expect
Read More...The path to success in many areas of life is paved with continual hard work, intense activity and a day-to-day focus on results. In long-term investment, however, that philosophy is turned upside down. The Chinese philosophy of Taoism has a phrase for this: “wei wu-wei”. In English, this translates as to “do without doing”. It
Read More...In a recent survey, participants were asked to nominate the additional services they would like their financial planner to provide, outside of those that they already provide. The responses were divided into different age categories and the results were fairly predictable. In essence, any respondent who was 41 years and older nominated in the top
Read More...Have you noticed the surge recently in people wandering aimlessly and staring at their smartphones? Chances are they’re playing Pokémon GO, the latest craze. It’s an activity eerily close to how some folk see investing. From Tokyo to Frankfurt and from New York to Sydney, tens of millions of people have become obsessed with finding
Read More...There are moments in our professional lives when we realise why we do what we do. The below letter from a client is an example of this. It also highlights the benefits of being properly insured and the role we play as advisors in assisting people through the claims process. Today I want to take
Read More...When news breaks and markets move, content-starved media often invite talking heads to muse on the repercussions. Knowing the difference between this speculative opinion and actual facts can help investors keep their nerve. At the end of June, UK citizens voted in a referendum for the nation to withdraw from the European Union. The result,
Read More...Savouring a vintage wine is one of life’s great pleasures. But often overlooked in the joy of consumption is the carefully calibrated journey from grape to glass. Similar levels of care are critical to good investment outcomes. A host of variables can determine whether a wine is great, good, mediocre or undrinkable. These include the
Read More...With the breadth of investment choices available to SMSF trustees, the purchase of artwork or collectibles needs to be done from a pure investment perspective. This article looks at the key considerations. Changes and definitions: From July 1 2016 the ATO is tightening rules around how owning Artwork or Collectibles are managed by SMSF fund trustees[1],
Read More...Much has been written in recent days in response to the Government proposals which seek to significantly change the superannuation and retirement funding landscape. For this reason, we feel it is appropriate to write to you and provide some points to consider in the lead up to the end of the financial year. As a
Read More...Concessional contribution cap reduced to $25,000 The concessional contributions cap will reduce to $25,000 per annum for everyone regardless of age from 1 July 2017. Currently the concessional contributions cap is $30,000 for clients under age 50 and $35,000 for ages 50 and over. What this means The reduced concessional contributions cap of $25,000 does
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