General discussion on the activities of a financial planner and their clients, as well as comment on broad industry trends and practices.
Financial Planning Ethics – from a financial planner’s point of view.It’s Philosophy Friday, so let’s spend a moment or two musing on the place of “Ethics” in the world of the financial planner. Financial Planning Ethics It may seem obvious that there is a place for ethics in financial planning. Financial planning scandals of one…
The Reserve Bank of Australia today announced that it has dropped interest rates yet again. Borrowers on variable rates linked to the RBA cash rate will rejoice when their particular financial institution eventually agrees to pass on the interest rate cut. Pensioners and people living off interest income will find their next interest payment is…
Is there a financial bias in media and commentary towards do-it-yourself strategies? And if there is, is it disclosed or obvious or even apparent?
Financial planners and life insurance have been in the headlines recently. It’s a strange development, for a variety of reasons that i will cover later in this post. For the moment however, let’s just say that the current debate is highly superficial, and there’s a need for greater clarity – so read on! Financial planners…
What is Australia’s cheapest super fund? Should fees be the sole basis for choosing a super fund?
In my role as a financial planner i am often asked questions about the retiring age in Australia. There is no simple answer – the age differs according to where your focus is – superannuation, tax or government age pension income support. Here’s a quick look at different versions of the retiring age in Australia.
What keeps this financial planner awake at night? Currently, it’s thoughts about “the anchoring fallacy” and the impact it can have on money and plans for the future.
D-Day for pensioners is approaching With important new deeming rules coming into effect on 1 January 2015, now is the time to review your superannuation and pension arrangements to ensure you don’t miss out on valuable Social Security entitlements. Pension deeming after 1 January 2015 will change Account based pensions have generally been given favourable…
“Darling, it’s time we talked about money…” In my financial planning experiences, talking about money early in a relationship is incredibly important. Even more important is making sure you talk about money honestly and openly. When a couple start working on a budget, one of the last areas usually tackled is their differing attitudes to…
Savings are the start of every geat investment plan. Here’s a New York Times page with a very simple “slider” calculator that helps to work out how much your savings could grow to. It’s based on putting aside a percentage of your income – you enter the rate of return and the number of years to invest.
The power of compound interest is vividly demonstrated. i like the emphasis on savings, as so much of mainstream media focus is on investment – which can’t happen without savings.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/03/24/your-money/one-pct-more-calculator.html
i’d be interested in your feedback…
Michael
