News
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Key things to know about Home Care Changes
Read more: Key things to know about Home Care ChangesFrom 1 November 2025, a new program called Support at Home will replace the current Home Care Package system, bringing significant changes. On the positive side, there will be more packages available, which should reduce waiting times. But there will also be changes to the contributions (fees) you pay – and for some people, this could mean paying more for the care services you access. Here’s a simple overview to help you understand what’s changing and how you can prepare. What’s changing? The existing Home Care Packages will cease on 1 November 2025, and everyone will transition to Support at…
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2026 Q1 March Quarter Review
Read more: 2026 Q1 March Quarter ReviewEconomic Overview Global markets struggled across the board in Q1 for a clear reason, the beginning of the conflict in the Middle East, which led to a major disruption in global energy supply and some damage to middle eastern energy infrastructure. Weakness in US tech stocks, and tech stocks globally, also contributed to weakness across Q1. Japan and the UK were the outliers with positive returns for the quarter in the wake of February’s elections in Japan, and the UK benefiting from heavy energy exposure and a falling pound. Emerging markets fared better than many developed markets, with early gains…
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When Housing Stops
Read more: When Housing StopsIt’s been called Cold Australia, due to similarities in size and population density. Along with the fact it’s a former part of the British Empire, and still a Commonwealth country. The place that Donald Trump has been seriously, or not so seriously, threatening in recent times. Canada. Like Australia, it’s also been home to what’s considered (by some) to be a very overinflated housing market, until recently. More on that later, but this week, unlike Australia, Canada didn’t have an interest rate increase. The Bank of Canada held rates at 2.25%. Not particularly notable, but what was notable was the…
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Geopolitical Instability/Portfolio Stability
Read more: Geopolitical Instability/Portfolio StabilityUnfortunately, we’re seeing another concerning conflict in the world. While it’s obviously very sad due to lives lost, injuries, stress, and damage across the Middle East, as with all geopolitical events, there is little we can do about it. The thing we can control is how much it controls us. “Stay informed” The guaranteed thing about any large-scale event is how many sudden experts there are. And there are so many different angles. There’s the conflict itself, military intelligence, the wider geopolitical implications, energy, tourism, and insurance, just to name the most obvious. Your guess is as good as ours…
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Beneath the Surface
Read more: Beneath the SurfaceOccasionally clients come to us with existing portfolios. They have funds in them we share no philosophical alignment with. We’d never recommend them, and we provide a gentle nudge, whenever possible, that they’d be best moved on from, in the most tax efficient way possible. This can be for many reasons, or a combination. Expense. Risk. Type of portfolio management. Sometimes it can take a little time to loosen the grip. Why? Performance. It may not be much better or worse than what we put in our portfolios, so there’s no trigger. This is important because financial markets had a…
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