Wealth Management Archives | FinSec Partners

Compare pears with pears, not apples

Australia’s Industry Super Funds have been running the highly effective ‘compare the pair’ campaign for many years. However, Zenith (a leading research consulting firm) argue in a recent paper that ‘this comparison is not straightforward and is often misleading’. Zenith’s research focus on what constitutes a ‘Balanced’ Super Fund portfolio. They argue that most people’s definition of ‘balanced’ is something like a 60/40 mix of Growth and Defensive assets. However, the so-called Balanced Option of Industry Super Fund, Host Plus, [...]

denise.henly2019-10-04T05:28:45+09:30October 3rd, 2019|Superannuation|

The business of YOU Inc – September 2019, SA Leaders Presentation

In this video presentation, Managing Partner and SA Leaders 'Industry Expert' Andrew Creaser explores the concept of 'planning for success' with a broader goals-based approach to investment, risk and estate planning strategies.

denise.henly2020-07-08T06:36:42+09:30September 20th, 2019|Debt, Estate Planning, Insurance, Investment, More than just Finance, Pre-Retirement Planning, Quick Tips, Retirement Planning, Superannuation|

Why your insurance within super could be at risk from July 1

Anyone holding insurance inside of super must be aware of the upcoming changes to inactive accounts, and to take prompt action if they wish to avoid having insurance they need cancelled. What is changing? From 1 July this year, super funds will be required to cancel insurance cover within accounts if the account is deemed inactive. An inactive account is defined as any super account that: has not received a contribution or rollover for 16 continuous months, and the member has [...]

denise.henly2019-06-05T01:23:20+09:30May 31st, 2019|Federal Budget, FinSec Post, Insurance, Superannuation|

Protecting your super reforms

In December 2018 the productivity commission ruffled a few feathers with its report into the Superannuation Industry, suggesting employers and unions cede control of the $600 bn default superannuation system. The report identified that more than 30% of the 25 million accounts in the superannuation system are deemed inactive, resulting in investors paying $2.6 billion of unnecessary fees each year. In response and as part of their 2018/19 Federal Budget the Coalition introduced a number of reforms designed to "protect Australians' superannuation savings [...]

denise.henly2019-05-31T05:27:12+09:30May 29th, 2019|FinSec Post, Insurance, Superannuation|

When it comes to franking credits, all public funds are not the same

Many SMSF trustees who may lose their franking credit refunds under Labor’s proposed policy are considering transferring to a large retail or even industry fund. It has become a common assumption that such a fund will give retirees access to franking credit refunds. For example, Robert Gottliebsen writing in The Australian last weekend said: “But the ALP plan is that if you save via an industry super fund or a large retail fund, then you can receive your cash franking in full.” This [...]

denise.henly2019-05-16T01:40:54+09:30May 3rd, 2019|FinSec Post, SMSF|

What you need to know in the lead up to the Federal election

With the 2019 Budget week having concluded following the formal delivery of the 2019/20 Federal Budget by the Treasurer on 2 April 2019, and the Opposition response on 4 April 2019, it’s now “game on” in terms of policy positions as the electorate starts to consider where they will cast their vote in the upcoming election. For some voters, the decision on where they cast their vote will be influenced by where the future elected Government will focus their spending. In [...]

denise.henly2019-07-31T00:52:11+09:30April 25th, 2019|Investment, SMSF, Superannuation|

Superannuation needs to modernise.

How did Australia, which rightly prides itself on having one of the most stable and resilient economies in the world, end up cleaning up the messy and damaging aftermath of a savage Royal Commission into our financial sector? Financial services is – and has been for some years – the largest sector in our economy, bigger than mining, bigger than agriculture. We are a nation of suits, not hard hats and Akubras. The exponential growth of our massive financial services sector [...]

denise.henly2019-02-27T23:15:34+10:30February 13th, 2019|FinSec Post, More than just Finance, Superannuation|

Labor’s franking policy is a ticking bomb for all super funds

The Australian Labor Party (ALP) proposal to limit cash refunds of franking credits will clearly impact many pension phase SMSFs, but we believe it also has the potential to impact many other superannuation funds. In this paper, we build a model of the key variables which determine whether a superannuation fund is likely to lose refunds of net franking credits under the ALP proposal. Our model is consistent with and helps explain an article in The Australian which reported that $309 million in [...]

denise.henly2018-10-22T02:04:37+10:30October 22nd, 2018|Aged Pension, Finance, FinSec Post, Investment, Pre-Retirement Planning, Retirement Planning, SMSF|

Active Investment Success Relies on Finding a Top Personal “Trainer” to do the Heavy Lifting

A mate recently cancelled his gym membership at a popular city health club, citing lack of motivation, high monthly fees and a general malaise about “just not getting results’’. Out of interest, I asked him what his training regime looked like. A brisk walk on the treadmill, he confessed, followed by a quick sauna and an obligatory large iced-coffee (with cream and ice-cream) in the club lounge afterwards. Those stubborn kilos are still hanging on for dear life. Comparisons can be [...]