As daily conversation in Australia is increasingly dominated by concerns about the environment and global warming, more and more investors are looking at how they can make a difference and choose sustainable or ethical investments as part of their portfolio mix. So what exactly is an ethical investment? The answer can vary depending on your…
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Over 65? Thinking of selling your home? You may be able to contribute up to $300,000 ($600,000 for a couple) from the proceeds of the sale of your home to your superannuation fund. This incentive, known as the ‘downsizer contribution’, is part of a federal government program to improve housing affordability. It offers a further…
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While cuts in interest rates are greeted with glee by homebuyers and other borrowers, for the millions of retirees and others who depend on interest payments for their income, falling interest rates can be a disaster. For them, a drop in interest rates from 4% to 3% equates to a 25% drop in income. If…
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Resilience is the ability to quickly recover from setbacks, and while setbacks can come in many forms most of them will have a financial component. So what can you do to build financial resilience? Expect the unexpected Rarely do we get advance warning that something bad is about to happen to us, so the time…
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If you rely on your investments for income, an important aspect of managing your portfolio is cash flow (dividend income). Correctly structured cash flow is critical, so let’s have a look at what you might need to consider. What is cash flow? Cash flow simply looks at the payment frequency of income from an investment.…
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Just when you thought investing was easy to understand – you put your money into shares, property, fixed interest, cash, etc. – your adviser starts talking about “investment styles”! In essence, what that means is how fund managers choose the underlying investments for their clients portfolios. There are two traditional ways of choosing stocks that…
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More than $3.5 trillion dollars in inherited funds are expected to change hands within Australia during the next 20 years, with Australians enjoying one of the highest inheritance payout rates anywhere in the world. According to investment bank HSBC’s Future of Retirement report, Australians pass on average $561,000 to their heirs, almost four times the…
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It is commonly assumed that seeking financial advice is for the wealthy, and it only helps the rich become richer, yet financial advice can prove useful to anyone who wishes to better their financial future. Financial advice is like getting a health check-up for your financial situation. Your financial adviser is like your personal trainer,…
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It’s not uncommon for business owners to take short, irregular holidays because they don’t have the support to keep their business running without them for a longer break. Aside from taking time off for leisure, have you considered what would happen if you were forced to take six months off work due to a serious…
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There are many reasons to invest in shares. Some treat it as a bit of a punt, in it for the thrill of pitting our share selection skills against other players in the market. Others look to the market as a generator of long-term wealth. Whatever the motive, with thousands of shares listed on the…
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