As I meet clients in and around Newcastle, a common question asked by clients is ‘is having property in Super worthwhile and what does it involved’.

To help answer these questions here is an extract from Bina Brown of AFR.

Property investors looking for ways to turbo charge their retirement savings are focusing on do-it-yourself superannuation funds. Borrowing money to buy property has long been a favourite strategy among investors. Factors that make it preferable include tax benefits through negative gearing and the fact you can usually see and touch what you own.

Rules introduced in September 2007 to legitimise listed security warrants mean borrowing is now permitted by a super fund if the borrowing is structured as an instalment warrant.

Read the rest of this entry »

That’s Super

The advantage of buying residential property through a self-managed super fund

Read the rest of this entry »

This week has seen the press report that Avatar has become the highest grossing movie of all time. What does this really mean? I know that GEN X people around my age would argue that the Star Wars Trilogy, E.T and the Indiana Jones films were at least as big as Avatar. Baby Boomers would add Gone with the Wind, Ben Hur and Dr Zhivago for a start.

So as a Financial Adviser I felt this would be a good chance to show the power of inflation on money and the effect of compound interest or in this case compound inflation. As we all know, the value of $100 today is not the same as $100 in 1980. What would it be worth now if inflation had been 3.5% for the past 30 years? It would be worth $280.68 !

If you invested the same $100 with a 7% return it would grow to $761.22  

So this illustrates clearly that if you can invest (and not touch) your money it will grow substantially over time. HOWEVER inflation and the cost of living grow over time too, so make sure your investments are earnings significantly more than inflation.

If you want to find out what your investments could be worth contact us

Box Office Hits, Adjusted for Inflation
Avatar might be the highest grossing film of all time, but ticket prices are also at an all-time high. Adjusted for inflation, Avatar is only #26, just behind Grease, Mary Poppins, and Snow White.

According to some recent research by AXA and Monash University, family business and succession are not always a healthy mix – in Victoria alone of third or forth generation family businesses:

Some amazing numbers when you take the time to consider how this impacts on your business. So why do family business owners enable this to happen when our reserach shows overwhlemingly that having plans in place adds substantially to your overall business value?

Maybe it is time to work with your trusted advisors NOW to ensure that you achieve your optimal outcome both financially and emotionally.

GEN X advisers can help with the financial side along with your Accountant for structural advice. A business coach is also an essential ingredient in the mix to get your business fit and ready for succession as it can be a long road that sometimes feels more like a roller coaster ride!

If you are interested in finding out how business coaching can play a part in your overall business planning contact Tim Ryan from Shirlaws, who is based in Newcastle.

Pulling out the crystal ball is always fraught with danger… So I have closed my eyes and here we go: 

ARIES
Australian Shares
The Australian share market still provides a good medium term investment opportunity. Over the past year, companies have taken the opportunity to cut costs and wind back debt levels, which should support profit growth as the economy recovers.

TAURUS
Emerging Markets
Likely to be the key driver of any global economic recovery. It is anticipated that countries like China, India and Indonesia will record strong economic growth in 2010 and beyond.

GEMINI
Developed Markets
Developed economies like the US, Japan and Europe are likely to record positive growth in 2010 after contracting over the past 18 months. To date these countries’ share markets have underperformed developing or emerging markets, and with a return to growth, the company profit outlook should improve and attract investor inflows.

Read the rest of this entry »