Proposals are afoot for major changes in the world of financial planning advice for insurance cover. If you are interested, here’s a brief note from myself and links to some of the key points being looked at by regulators and commentators.Financial planners continue to be in the news – gosh, we must be an interesting…
For a whole host of reasons, i’m thinking about insurance today. Thinking about insurance Insurance is one of those areas we all love to hate. Premiums always seem too high, we hear stories of insurance companies not paying out or the new stories about commissions being too high. After years of dealing with insurance companies and…
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?
It’s been a tumultuous year in the world of money, and 2015 looks to be just as interesting. Thank you for reading my blog, and a big thank you to those who have commented or contacted me with suggestions, ideas or to share thoughts. Next year promises to be a big one, so i would…
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…
The Medibank float is likely to be the largest and most keenly sought-after Australian Stock Exchange (“ASX”) retail float for a very long time.The high level of interest is a reflection of many issues – some valid and some not so valid from an objective investor point of view. In this post, i muse on…
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.
