Michael O'Hara

Michael O'Hara is a Financial Planner operating out of a boutique advisory service in East Perth, Western Australia.

Beware Fixed Income

what is the value of a dollar of income?
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While not usually given to hype-driven headlines and catchy bylines, it seems to me that investors are currently being led by some errant media ramping of fixed income products – which is wrapped up in the guise of genuine commentary, research and financial opportunity. This is not a gloom and doom post, and not a…

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A little bit of perspective on money

Sometimes you'd just rather be somewhere else
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There is a pointy-end of physics that studies the impact observations have on processes. One version is encompassed by the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. It is my thought that this principle should be applied to the world of money, as much as it is applied to quantum physics. Here’s why… It implies that it is impossible to simultaneously measure…

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Buy and hold – or be more active?

How will you harvest what is available?
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There has been a great deal of attention directed over the last couple of years towards a strategy known as “buy/write”. This post will look at how such a strategy has worked, and how the current market impacts such a process. The reason for this post is the strong market focus by advertisers and promoters…

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Financial Planning commentary

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Financial Planning is all about understanding money. There is a never ending stream of data being thrown at us all in this increasingly technologically-fed world but in many cases, all that extra data does is to add to the ‘noise’. Here at Michael’s Musings, a Perth planner will help you sort out the real information…

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What is the true value of a Euro?

What does a villa on the French Riviera cost these days?
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With all the ruckus that gets thrown into news headlines, it can sometimes be difficult to remember just what the longer term looks like. If anyone is in any doubt why Australian’s are currently NOT spending money in shops, and are instead going on overseas holidays or going online to spend their currency then this little…

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2012 – At the crossroads

Hercules at the Crossroads by Carracci
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    2012 is definitely lining up to be a watershed year, in which some of the global monetary tensions built up over the past 4 years finally work themselves out. The big question, of course, is exactly how these monetary pressures will resolve. Panic Buy or Panic Sell? In my role as a financial…

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Financial Planning Bias

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It’s the new year, and financial planning as an industry is headed pretty much where previous posts have suggested. Happy New Year! Today, we are going to continue to investigate the ins and outs of bias as it stands in the financial planning industry in Australia. Pour a cup of your favourite brew and let’s get…

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2012 Financial Checklist

checklist
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New Year resolutions come and go, with most consigned to the rubbish bin by mid-February. How are yours shaping up? If you haven’t made any this year, here’s a shopping list of small financial targets to get the creative juices going.  2012 Financial Checklist Start a budget Always a great place to start, yet it…

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A financial planner’s review of 2011

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bedeep bedeep bedeep… in the latest news to hand…   Global market players have left early to go on holidays, having universally agreed that the year of the Rabbit sucks, the market sucks, and that it makes sense to have a little rest before the Dragon enters the scene and provides enough lift to see above…

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