Financial Planning, Investment & Insurance Solutions

  • YourSuper Comparison, Super Bad

    YourSuper Comparison, Super Bad

    Australia’s worst superfunds have finally been placed in the village stocks for all to see. The YourSuper comparison tool was released earlier this year, it offered investors the ability to sort through various super fund options who have a MySuper default option and compare fees and returns over a 7 year period. While the tool has been available for use for a few months, it was only last week that funds were categorised on their investment performance. Either “Performing” or “Underperforming”. This kicked off a flurry of excitement in the media about who the worst were and how the members of those…

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  • The Rich & The Lure of Alternatives

    The Rich & The Lure of Alternatives

    Novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald once said, “The rich are different from you and me” to which Ernest Hemingway responded: “Yes, they have more money”. As with many famous anecdotes, there was some embellishment and it didn’t quite happen the way you might expect. However, Hemingway was right. One of the clear differences is the rich do have more money, but not only are the rich different because they have more money, it’s also been suspected they tend to invest differently to us average folk. We finally have some conclusive proof on that. A study titled “Asset Allocation and Returns in the Portfolios of the…

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  • Too Wealthy for Home Care Subsidies?

    Too Wealthy for Home Care Subsidies?

    Did you think you would not qualify for the government subsidies on home care? Take another look – you might be surprised. The cost of full-time private care provided in your own home may look daunting. But financial advice along with a government-subsidised home care package and support from friends and family, might make home care achievable and affordable. Each home care package comes with an assigned budget that you can choose how to spend on care services (after administration costs). Part of this budget is paid by the government and part is paid by the recipient. But are you…

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  • Working Class Returns

    Working Class Returns

    Seven News recently featured a story on rocker Jimmy Barnes. Jimmy was selling up his family home in Sydney to move to his new base in the Southern Highlands of NSW. What was the price to take over the working-class man’s converted Botany warehouse? Jimmy was hoping to get $4 million, after paying $1.61 million 17 years ago and spending another $1.6 million on renovations. The Seven reporter described it as a “clever investment”. If Jimmy and his family hit the $4 million sale mark (being Sydney, they’ll likely blow past it) we still wouldn’t describe it as a “clever investment”. Putting…

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  • The Blind Leading the Blind

    The Blind Leading the Blind

    On the 4th of August, CommSec, Australia’s largest online broker released a statement. It began: The limits on trades without a cash deposit are changing from 04 September, 2021. In light of recent market volatility, CommSec is changing trading limits to help protect our customers and minimise risk associated with investing and settlement. In the good old days, there was something known as T+3. You could buy a stock and your broker would give you 3 days to settle the trade, i.e. come up with the money. It provided an open window for retail traders to chance their arm on buying…

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