The biggest changes to superannuation in over 10 years start coming into effect from 1 July 2017. As we approach the end of the financial year, you should take a moment to go through the following updates to ensure you’re ready for the coming changes and to avoid getting caught out. Reduced Concessional Contributions Caps
We currently assess the Sydney property market to be at the high end of fair value. We expect that it may have peaked during 2015, and if there is a price drop in 2016 that it will be modest. We anticipate the price drop to be in the vicinity of 5%. Our view on
Welcome to the New Year, we look forward to guiding you through the investment market in 2016. 2015 in review At home the broader Australian market (S&P ASX300) finished just 2.8% up for the calender year, trading between 5982 in late April to 4918 in late September. All major commodities continued to fall throughout the
Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) takes into consideration not only the financial returns of a company but the social impact it makes. This can involve various levels of social responsibility from sustainability themed investing, negative screening (avoiding certain types of companies, for example, alcohol, gaming and tobacco) to best practice in relation to environmental, social
Being prepared at each stage of your property purchase can help to ensure everything runs smoothly, saving you a lot of time and stress. By now we have already discussed building your deposit, getting all the assistance available to you if you are a first home buyer and knowing how much you can borrow.
A large number of Australia’s population are approaching retirement age and looking for an income stream to fund their retirement. By law retirees aged between 65 and 74 need to drawdown a minimum of 5% of the value of their pension investments each year. Unfortunately, a conservative investment portfolio will generally provide a return below
The first step in working out how much you can borrow is to determine your financial situation. This involves working out your net income, expenses and other commitments. It is important to make your budget realistic, and to include all your expenses. It is not worth understating your expenses and commitments as it may
The Australian share market has experienced a very difficult period since March 2015. We have summarised some of the key impacts on Australian shares, looking at the macro level and micro level factors that are playing a part. Macro level factors Earnings growth: Over the next two years there is an expectation that the Australian
Choosing your investment options within superannuation How you manage your money within superannuation over the long term can make a big difference to your final balance. For some people, superannuation will be their largest pool of wealth so the decisions you make today should not be taken lightly. Most super funds have a number of
What does it mean to salary sacrifice? When you salary sacrifice into superannuation, you are making an agreement with your employer to direct a specified amount of your salary into your superannuation account as opposed to taking it through your salary. As this payment is made before tax it does not attract your marginal
