First Financial Blog

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We’ve been closely watching the US market. And we believe now is the time to reduce our investment exposure. It’s time to switch out of US shares and into more attractively priced markets like Australia and Japan.

We have had a number of clients receive phone calls from people purporting to be from the ATO and Centrelink. They have been asking for personal details such as date of birth, Tax File Numbers, Bank account numbers, etc., in order to either steal their money or steal their identity.

There are now a number of ‘dual’ facilities on the market where they offer you a Retirement Village unit initially, and as your level of care increases you move into Residential Aged Care – all within the one facility…

On Tuesday 9 May, the Federal Government handed down its Budget for the 2017–18 financial year. According to Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison, this year’s Budget is founded on the principles of fairness, security and opportunity.

As discussed in our last article, “Time in the Market” (February 2017), predicting the market is extremely difficult. Whilst we would all like to invest at the bottom of the market and sell at the top, the reality is that this is impossible to do.

Often, Financial Advisers use the phrase ‘time in the market’, not ‘timing the market’. Although this is a well-used phrase, I would like to explore what this means and the impact it may have on your portfolio.

Aged care is rapidly moving to a ‘user pays’ system, with government policy to keep everyone in their own home for as long as possible to reduce the burden of residential aged care due to increasing pressure on the budget.

With the funds management industry growing into one of Australia’s largest industries, with over $2.7 trillion in funds under management in more than 10,000 managed funds, it is crucial to have an understanding of what your fund manager is investing in.

According to a 2010 Lifewise/NATSEM Report, one in five parents will be unable to work, or will die, before retirement age. The good news is that quality life insurance policies do provide families with real protection and peace of mind.

From 1 January 2017, government changes to the age pension are likely to reduce many age pension recipients’ entitlements.