First Financial Blog

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As we sit here after close on Friday the 13th – the last three weeks have seen almost all global markets shed 25% and oil drop 50%. It seems clear global markets have caught the Coronavirus…

Housing affordability is a national issue and the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme is designed to enable people to purchase their first home with a deposit of just 5%, without the need for lender’s mortgage insurance.

Happiness… the state of being happy, cheerful, contented. Enjoying a pleasurable or satisfying experience. It is definitely something that we all strive for – to be happy. And when we reach our retirement, we really want to make sure that we achieve it!

As the workforce changes, many people are regularly moving between jobs… and with every new employer, it’s not uncommon to leave the set-up of superannuation to the accounts department. Therefore, it’s entirely possible that by the time you reach the age of 40 you may have multiple super funds.

No one could have foreseen how the world would start 2020. On 31 December 2019 a new type of coronavirus, now known as COVID-19, was discovered in Wuhan, China, and since then the outbreak has had a significant impact on the global investment market.

There were many defining moments that impacted the stock market over the last decade, but there is resounding acknowledgement that if you invested in equities ten years ago… then it’s most likely you have experienced overall positive performance.

In the past, bushfires have led to a crisis of ‘underinsurance’. Post-disaster, people come to realise that their insurance is inadequate and does not sufficiently cover their loss. It can be a devastating experience and unfortunately, this year’s situation will be no different.

In November 2019, a team of First Financial basketball enthusiasts competed in the National Corporate Games. While they didn’t make it to the finals, they played some fantastic matches and have a new found camaraderie with each other.

The new year is well underway and First Financial’s Managing Director, Ben Rossi, would like to share his thoughts and well wishes for the months ahead.

Tomorrow is always an unknown entity… no one has a crystal ball to see what is around the corner. But it is important to be prepared for any possibility and to have a safety net in place should something go wrong.