One of the most important principles of investing is to ensure that you have a diversified portfolio . Diversification — spreading your money among many different investments — attempts to take a middle road through the highs and lows of market performance, allowing your money the opportunity to grow regularly... read more →
Feb
13
Jan
23
The decisions you make when you are transitioning into retirement can be the most telling for financial security throughout your golden years. Why? Your accumulated savings pool is likely to be highest in the years nearing retirement – and just after you retire. Investment decisions made at this time can... read more →
Oct
24
If you’re nearing retirement age but don’t want to stop work entirely, another option might be to transition into retirement. For those over 60, Transition to Retirement (TTR) pensions are tax-free and TTR strategies can provide a number of benefits. Let’s look at some options available to 62-year-old accountant, Brian.... read more →
Aug
27
Financial planning. That’s for people with lots of money to invest, isn’t it? Not necessarily. Sure, investment planning is an important part of financial planning, but underpinning the whole process of creating wealth in the first place is having a good financial strategy. For many people that strategy is taking... read more →
Jul
03
The 40s are, for many people, a critical decade for building wealth. Income is usually on the rise, but so are expenses such as mortgages and school fees. Juggling priorities can be a real challenge, and mistakes made in this stage of life can have a large bearing on the... read more →
Jan
07
A growing number of Australians are encountering the challenges of assisting elderly relatives with the move into aged care. One of them is David. Recently, he had to help his formerly active 78-year-old mother, Jan, with the painful decision to move into care when she was struggling to fully recover... read more →
Oct
03
Whether it’s due to over-enthusiastic lenders or desperate borrowers, failure to adhere to robust lending standards can land some borrowers in serious financial distress. In many cases the difficulties experienced by these borrowers could have been avoided if the lenders had complied with their responsible lending obligations. In brief, this... read more →
Sep
04
Many grandparents want to give their grandchildren a head start in life, and a common way to do so is to help by paying some (or all) of their school fees. This can, of course, simply be done by making a contribution at the time the fees are payable. However,... read more →
Aug
07
We all, to a greater or lesser extent, have an idea of our dream lifestyle. So how, as a nation, are we faring? To find out, the Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA) commissioned a survey of more than 2,600 people from around the country. The resulting Live the Dream... read more →
Feb
06
Margaret was 21 when she married Graham. She was working as a sales assistant in a large department store when they decided to start a family. As her pregnancy advanced Margaret gave up work and Graham, a warehouse fork-lift driver, took a second job to make up the shortfall in... read more →