Gold is frequently cited in the media as a safe haven asset that offers stability in a diversified portfolio and an anchor in uncertain times. The reality, however, frequently falls short of the billing. By the end of 2012, after a dozen consecutive years of price gains by gold, many analysts were rewriting the […]
Finally, we have an announcement from the Government after weeks of speculation concerning changes to super. We have read the press release and a few early reports and thought this was a good summary. 15% Tax on Earnings over $100,000 The government have announced a restriction on the tax concessions available in pension phase. From […]
An entire branch of the financial media exists to tell people what stocks to buy. For some reason, many people still think this works as a wealth management tool. Each year, Australia’s ‘Smart Investor’ magazine runs a front cover feature called The Good Stocks Guide. It’s an exhaustive, and exhausting, analysis of which stocks offer […]
There are two ways of learning. You can be taught how to do something correctly or you can be shown the consequences of doing it wrong. In the world of investment, it’s a lot cheaper to learn from others’ mistakes. A recent edition of a television current affairs program detailed how elderly Australians, many of […]
Trying to correctly time your entry point to the market is never easy. Just ask the experts. In early February, strategists at a global investment bank were becoming alarmed at political events in Europe, the sequestration “crisis” in the US Congress and what they saw as an unseemly rush into equities. The word went out […]
When you haven’t got much capital of your own, the road to financial security can seem long, hard and complex. But the truth is that wealth building is relatively simple. All it takes is time and the price of a cup of coffee. A son of a friend just graduated from university. Still in his […]