Financial Planning, Investment & Insurance Solutions

  • 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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  • 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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  • One Hit Wonders

    One Hit Wonders

    The one hit wonder is a particular phenomenon in music that can be traced back to the inception of the Billboard Hot 100 music chart during the late 1950’s in the US. Generally speaking, it’s a singer or band who may have topped the music charts (or at least made the top 10) in a particular country, or even around the world, with one song, but never came close to reaching those heights ever again. It can be a subjective measure. Maybe an artist had a big hit across the world or in the US and was never really heard…

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  • Client Alpha

    Client Alpha

    The concept of adviser alpha has been floating around for several years now. We talk about it on a regular basis without explicitly naming it, but we specifically discussed it back in 2019. From an adviser context ‘alpha’ is essentially an excess return above what an investor may have achieved otherwise without an using an adviser. That’s the value the investor receives from an advice relationship. Various sections of the industry define adviser alpha (or adviser value) various ways, but from a high level these are the key areas: Goals: has someone identified their goals and do they know the asset…

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  • 2021 June Quarter Review

    2021 June Quarter Review

    Economic Overview Attention turned to vaccinations and reopening economies in the second quarter of 2021, by the end of the quarter over 3 billion vaccine doses had been administered globally. There are now strong indicators of a robust and lengthy economic expansion ahead. Around the world there are now businesses desperate to hire new employees, millions of consumers with money burning holes in their pockets, and ongoing fiscal and monetary support from governments and central banks. In the US, the positive news around COVID was vaccinations. While President Biden had set a goal of 70% of all adults vaccinated by…

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