BLOGS

My insights on the power of a gearing strategy

Borrowing to invest, particularly in property, has been a very popular investment strategy in Australia. A mortgage is a wonderful servant but a terrible master. If you use mortgages properly, in a risk adverse way, it can be a very powerful wealth accumulation tool. However, if used poorly, it has the power to destroy more …

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What impact will coronavirus have on your investments?

Coronavirus’ impact on share markets is a hot topic at the moment. We’ve seen global markets fall by over 10% between 21 February and 2 March 2020. It seems that the market’s sentiment shifted literally overnight from a state of being arguably ‘over-optimistic’ to being ‘very fearful’. Some of my clients have voiced their concerns …

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Major and important changes to income protection insurance

I wrote a blog in December last year about how difficult personal risk insurance (e.g. income protection, Life and TPD) is becoming to obtain. In addition, in December, the government directed Australian insurers to make some very significant changes to their products. I have been waiting to measure the insurers response to these directives. These …

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Spring-Cleaning: It’s a perfect time to sell dud investments

With share markets at an all-time high and sentiment in the property market recovering, it is a great opportunity to divest of any underperforming (dud) investments. Not all investments perform as expected. Therefore, it’s important you regularly review them. This review should be completed without any influence of emotion – it’s all about the numbers. …

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What are the best alternatives to term deposits?

With term deposit rates currently ranging between 1% and 2% p.a., and the prospect of further rate cuts by the RBA, many investors are contemplating where to invest their cash. Most commentators and economists agree that it looks like the interest rate environment will be lower for longer. If that turns out to be true, …

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Tax benefits associated with investing in shares

Investing in shares can produce tax benefits. But it can also result in tax liabilities too. Terms such as “franking credits” and “imputation credits” (same thing) were frequently used during last year’s federal election (the Labor Party proposed to ban franking credit refunds). However, many people do not understand these concepts. So, this blog seeks …

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