As I woke up this morning I read a headline that Bitcoin reached $11,000 USD for the first time – shortly afterwards it crashed 20%! It’s fascinating to watch how quickly cryptocurrencies are evolving, but to be honest I don’t really understand them and cannot predict how things will ultimately play out (I have not… [Read More]
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Investing for life
Investing is easy, it’s just a case buying low and selling high – right? While it might sound simple, we all know that nothing could be further from the truth! Our brains are not naturally wired to make investment decisions. Emotion tends to take control at the wrong time and distract us from our original plan… [Read More]
Your most valuable asset
It’s easy to fall into the trap of getting caught up in the day to day noise of modern life. When someone asks, “how are you?”… is your response a simple “really busy” and not much else? Time is our most valuable asset. Without it, we miss out on the best experiences in life. Most importantly,… [Read More]
The dilemma – spend or save?
Have you ever felt like you are on a treadmill of spending what you earn? Often when I meet clients for the first time, they openly say they can (and should) save more. So why is saving so difficult? It’s mainly because we do not try. A sudden change in circumstances like loss of employment… [Read More]
Another good year for shares, but do bull markets die of old age?
The past 12 months have been rewarding for shares in Australia and around the world. The local market was up by 14.1%, driven by profit revivals in the large miners following the Chinese stimulus announcements in March 2016. Up by 14.7%, international equities were the strongest asset class, with the big Asian markets surging by… [Read More]
Death and the $1.6m pension cap can unravel your estate plan
As the saying goes, two things are certain in life – death and taxes! However, from 1 July 2017 the $1.6m transfer balance cap on pensions makes your estate plan much more complex. The death of a spouse is known as a ‘compulsory cashing event’, which means the deceased spouse’s superannuation benefit must be paid… [Read More]