The news around COVID-19 continues to move fast. Governments are moving to alleviate the impact on individuals and businesses. Today’s stimulus had the following measures included. SUPPORT FOR INDIVIDUALS Welfare payments: $18.1bn Welfare recipients receive an extra $550 a fortnight on top of their current benefits, essentially doubling the newstart payment. Coronavirus supplement time-limited for next six months. Waiting times and asset tests for JobSeeker Payment waived. Extra one-off $750 payment for welfare recipients and veterans, on top of the $750 announced for them in the last round of stimulus measures. The 2nd $750 will arrive in July. Superannuation:…

We’re deep in a global pandemic. The positive? Governments are responding. Unprecedented times call for unprecedented measures. Interest rates to near zero. Governments putting money into bank accounts. Financial support for business. Government quickly realised the time for half measures was over. President Trump especially. He’s got an election to win at the end of the year. Previously he’d been coasting to victory. With the US economy pummeled, Trump’s no longer on a victory lap. Trump’s big stimulus may not be the last. On an individual level, the important thing is getting through this. Physically and mentally healthy. If you…

While your investment portfolios may be very well diversified have you ever thought about other areas of life where you might be financially exposed to risk? One key objective of diversification is to reduce single stock/security risk by spreading your money over hundreds of different securities. Imagine one or two blow-up. There is minimal impact on your portfolio. This approach means you are not concentrating your exposure in any one sector or security. But what about other areas of life? Could you be exposed in other ways to sectors or industries that are higher risk and subject to the cycles…