Michael O'Hara

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

Mining taxes and straight-line projections

RBA Index of Commodity Prices
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Much has been made over the last year on the relative merits of a “mining tax”, which has also been called a “super profits” tax. Very learned folk have invested a lot of time and energy into looking at Australia’s economy and trying to work out how to better spread around the benefits of the…

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How Do I Measure Risk?

What risks are you prepared to take
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So, what risks ARE you prepared to take? Some people think it is fun to bungey-jump off a cliff or a bridge or a crane when they are travelling overseas, while others are not prepared to do this – whether it be from fear of heights, concern over the health effect on their eyes or…

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Managed Funds are a waste of time

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Would someone please offer to donate $1 to me every time that i encounter something along the lines of “managed funds are a waste of time”? It could save me an awful lot of time and energy, and would very quickly fund my eventual retirement to a Tibetan monastery, where i would sit in bemused…

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Keep calm, and carry on

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Tumultuous times. Is it the case that more catastrophes are happening or are we simply being made more aware of them? Food riots in Algeria, a stall-owner in Tunisia setting himself on fire and triggering a social revolution that is shifting power across the Middle East. Earthquakes wreak ruin and fear on China, New Zealand…

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A quick sharemarket update

Speculating in "trends" is no different to gambling
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A quick look at the Australian sharemarket reveals a few interesting trends of late. Here is my take on some of the ‘flavour of the month’ trends. Remember the Great Disclaimer – Nothing in this post or on this site is to be considered personal advice. It is information and observations of a general nature…

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Investment Advice and Bias

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Everyone has a form of bias built into their decision-making processes. It could be based on bad outcomes from past experiences or better than expected results from one activity over another. It may be that you gathered your relevant  knowledge from a source that itself contained an inate bias. The trick is to know how…

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Trader’s Update

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Here is a Friday update from John on how he sees the very short term movements of the Australian Sharemarket currently. Please remember the great Disclaimer – none of this information is to be considered personal advice, and you MUST NOT take any action based on this post without first verifying that it is appropriate…

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The Global Financial Crisis Exposed

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Money, power, bias – and truth. The Global Financial Crisis (now simply designated ‘the GFC’) brought all of these priorities, and the conflicts they cause, into stark view. A new movie “The Inside Job” successfully highlights the interplay of vested interests, hidden compensation and regulatory policy stupidity that suggests not only that the eventual crisis…

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Trading Update Monday 31st January 2011

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Here is our first Traders’ Update for 2011. As has been the case since the onset of the Global Financial Crisis, the world of investment is dominated by activities of speculators and traders. That is, investors and institutions looking to buy and sell a range of securities over the short term to speculate on price movements rather than…

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