At a time when many people have been focused on their family’s health and livelihood, having adequate life insurance has never been more important. Yet the gap between what we need and what we have, has been growing. Life insurance is all about ensuring your family can maintain their lifestyle if you were to die [...]
Building a bridge to recovery In what has been billed as one of the most important budgets since the Great Depression, and the first since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic dragged Australia into its first recession in almost 30 years, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the next phase of the journey is to secure Australia’s [...]
Just when you thought you had a grip on the superannuation rules, they change again. This time though, the changes are mostly positive, especially for older super members keen to top up their savings. From 1 July 2020, changes came into effect with the potential to help retirees as well as members suffering financial hardship [...]
The Morrison Government’s mind-bogglingly large support packages to get Australians through the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) shutdown have dominated headlines, and rightly so. Only months ago, the Australian economy was in relatively good shape and headed for a Budget surplus. It’s not just the Government that has swung into action. Behind the scenes, the Reserve Bank of [...]
After period of optimism, global investment markets have hit the panic button on fears about the possible economic impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19). At times like these, it’s good to get some perspective. Australian shares rose 24 per cent last year, touching record highs, and 10 per cent a year over the past seven years. [...]
With interest rates at historic lows and likely to stay that way for some time, retirees and other investors who depend on income from their investments are on the lookout for a decent yield. Income from all the usual sources, such as term deposits and other fixed interest investments, have slowed to trickle. Which is [...]
It was a year of extremes, with shares hitting record highs and interest rates at historic lows. Yet all in all, 2019 delivered far better returns than Australian investors dared hope for at the start of the year. The total return from Australian shares (prices and dividend income) was 24 per cent in the year [...]
Like it or not, we live in interesting times. More than a decade after the Global Financial Crisis, the global economy is facing fresh headwinds creating uncertainty for policy makers and investors alike. This time around it's not a debt crisis, although debt levels are extremely high, but geopolitical instability. The ongoing US-China trade war [...]
Negatively gearing an investment property is viewed by many Australians as a tax effective way to get ahead. According to Treasury, more than 1.9 million people earned rental income in 2012-13 and of those about 1.3 million reported a net rental loss. So it was no surprise that many people were worried about how they [...]
For most people, life insurance provides a safety net against unexpected events. This is particularly the case if you have a mortgage, debts or family who are dependent on you earning an income. In many cases, life insurance has been automatically offered through superannuation. Although 85 per cent of people hold life insurance this way, [...]
