Financial Planning, Investment & Insurance Solutions

  • Active Managers Not Shining in Crisis

    Active Managers Not Shining in Crisis

    In support of active fund management This is the time for active managers to shine Opportunity is ripe for active investors Don’t ‘buy the index’: Investing in the time of the coronavirus Stockpickers can prove their worth in crisis, says Aberdeen It’s a Weird Market. Time To Go Active. A selection of headlines from publications in Australia and around the world. This has been the message since COVID-19 took off. Active managers are once again ready to step into the light and prove their worth in volatile investment markets. It’s a cycle as old as time. You can set your…

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  • Seniors Lobby Not Helping Seniors

    Seniors Lobby Not Helping Seniors

    Hearing about someone’s problem in the media? A lobby group has probably been doing their job. Right now, it must be some sort of record. Very few people haven’t been affected by COVID-19. Very few people are quiet about it. They’re airing their woes. Many want something. Alternatively, they want something changed. It seems every media story is about someone’s demands. Fair enough. If you don’t ask, you don’t get. When it touches on the investment space, we’re interested. Self-funded retirees are the ones currently featuring in the media. It makes sense. They’ve exited the workforce and there is a…

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  • What Will Work Next?

    What Will Work Next?

    The good thing about our clients is they often provide us with new ideas and different things to think about. There’s always a question. A scenario. A change in circumstances. A lifestyle challenge. A different behaviour. A new personality. Encountering different people and different situations broadens our scope. Hopefully it makes us better advisers. More experience benefits the needs of our existing and future clients. After our last story on gold, there were some questions. A couple of clients wanted to know more about winners and losers post the 2008 financial crisis. If we use sharemarkets as the measure, they…

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  • A Tale of Two Pension Funds

    A Tale of Two Pension Funds

    A crisis may not be welcome, but it can be valuable. When the world is spinning gloriously without interruption, complacency can emerge. That’s when bad habits start. Forgetting the lessons of the past. A little bit of hubris that outcomes were determined by skill, not luck. Believing that things work differently now. For investing, it’s a reminder why you stay within the lanes. Swim between the flags. Ski on-piste. Colour within the lines. Have some rules that apply no matter the conditions. COVID-19 came out of the blue. Those who’d made assumptions based on the recent past becoming the near…

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  • Super Problems

    Super Problems

    For the past few years there has been a battle raging. Certain superannuation funds have not been backward about coming forward about their performance. Their ‘balanced’ options are the headline generators. Take out top spot and it’s plenty of media attention. The fund’s chief investment officer can pose for flattering photos. Even better, they’ll be quoted on market direction and what they see as emerging investment themes. This attention will attract new investors. People switching their super to the winner. For some, the term ‘balanced’ is misleading. True defensive assets are fixed interest (bonds) and cash. Some superfunds have snuck…

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