Author: prudentia

Retirement the ‘number one trigger’ for financial advice

  Approaching retirement still remains the top reason for seeking advice from a financial planner, with healthcare costs, outliving their savings and aged care costs some of the biggest concerns, according to a recent research paper.  

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2020 is coming to an end. Phew!!

  Some fireworks and a great Advent Calendar to help you celebrate. On behalf of all our staff we wish our clients and their families a Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year and a great holiday period.  

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Super, death, and taxes

  An interesting finding in the federal government's Retirement Income Review report is that many Australians are dying with the majority of the wealth they had when they retired.  

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ATO flags key deadlines for early release of super

  With the end of the year drawing closer, the ATO has outlined some of the cut-off dates and deadlines applying for members wanting to apply for the early release of their super.  

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Behind the dash in new market listings

  There's been an unexpected surge in new listings on the Australian share market over recent months. So, what is driving this IPO boom?  

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Retirement costs rising despite COVID impacts

  The cost of a comfortable retirement in Australia has gone up over the September quarter despite COVID-induced lifestyle changes, new research has revealed.  

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Investing basics for first timers

  The students of 2020 are graduating to the adult world in one of the most uncertain times in recent history amid recession, pandemic and global political tensions. In times like these, knowing the basics of how to get started down the road to prosperity is more important than ever.  

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Government targets fund expenditure, best interests in new super reforms

  Recently released draft exposure legislation will require trustees of super funds, including SMSFs, to exercise their powers in the best financial interests of beneficiaries and require APRA-regulated funds to support their expenditures with evidence.  

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Small SMSFs develop rapidly

  The latest industry research has shown SMSFs with low balances grow to levels allowing them to become cost-efficient very quickly.  

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Afterpay – buy now, pain later?

Afterpay has been a sharemarket darling, with its share price rising almost tenfold over the past two years alone. The price has fallen a little since starting this article, but market consensus remains optimistic. To Simon Mawhinney however, from Allan Gray Australian Equity fund manager, the risks seem heavily skewed to the downside. We explore...

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Emotions cost investors dear, research finds

Knee-jerk reactions and short-term thinking lead to significant losses according to research by Oxford Risk (as reported in the Financial Times – Madison Darbyshire, October 24, 2020).  Investors lose an average of 3 per cent a year in returns to emotionally-driven investment decisions, a gap that widens significantly in times of steep volatility such as...

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Ignore the crowd and focus on your game plan

US elections, daily pandemic updates, and political scandals dominate the news headlines. In this world of hyper-connectivity and a constant flow of information, investors must be focused on their game plan and learn to tune out the noise of the crowd. As we witnessed during October’s grand final, discipline is the key to success. Markets...

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Monitoring super performance critical in light of new measures

While the government has announced plans to increase governance over the performance of super funds, super members will still need to actively monitor the performance of their fund to avoid being stapled to an underperforming one, says a mid-tier firm.

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Comprehensive list of COVID-19 initiatives and packages.

  The response by our Governments to the COVID-19 crisis has been a very good one.  Following is a comprehensive listing of links to important Federal and State initiatives and programs since the pandemic began.  

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Capital preservation front of mind for SMSF returns

  SMSF investors will increasingly be attracted to investments offering capital preservation post-COVID, with volatile markets and lower dividends compromising their ability to meet investment objectives, according to an asset manager.  

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Majority of retirees expected to fall short on retirement savings

  Recent research has revealed that more than half of retirees are projected to fall short of their desired retirement income level by more than 10 per cent, says Russell Investments.  

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What millennials are thinking about investing and retirement

Vanguard surveyed more than 850 millennials in the U.S. currently aged 24 to 39, who make at least US$50,000 per year, as part of a broader study on how people across different generations feel about retirement, investing, and financial advice during market volatility.

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How your coming tax cut could pay off

  Over the coming weeks, around 12 million working Australians will start receiving extra cash in their pay packets as a result of changes to personal income tax brackets announced by the federal government.  

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Related party purchases must be clean

  Trustees must ensure any purchase from a related party is not a proxy for a loan or financial assistance to avoid breaching their obligations.  

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Most SMSFs are still poorly diversified

  Data only just released by the Australian Tax Office, detailing the asset allocations for all SMSFs in the quarter to the end of June, shows there was still a large investment weighting at that time towards cash and term deposits.  

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Lenders are getting tougher on older borrowers

  Australian banks this month started the largest ever customer contact program in the industry's history.  

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Estate planning opportunities highlighted with work test changes

  With the work test changes for over-65s opening up opportunities for recontribution strategies, clients may be able to even up balances and adopt tax strategies for estate planning, particularly once the bring-forward measure is passed, says a technical expert.  

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JobKeeper extension – changes implemented

  The legislative instrument implementing the changes to the JobKeeper scheme over the extended period was registered on 15 September 2020.  

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Temporary home office expenses shortcut extended again

  The 80 cents per hour work-from-home deduction method has now been extended for a further three months to the end of the year.  

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Investment preferences of the young

  As a new wave of investors enter the Australian share market, new trends begin to emerge.  

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How to construct an effective portfolio

  Portfolio construction is always a popular topic among investors, but as markets become more volatile, the practice of carefully piecing together a jigsaw of investments that weathers both good times and bad is particularly relevant.  

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Budget 2020 – At a Glance, Overview, Outlook

  These three areas cover all you will need to know but the accompanying two articles cover more specific topics and they might help you better understand how the Budget affects you.  

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Budget 2020 – Fact Sheets

  The following links are to Fact Sheets that describe in detail how the Federal Government feels the 2020 Budget will impact you.  

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Budget 2020 – A very comprehensive break down.

  The following 35 links break the 2020 Federal Budget down into bite size bits.  

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#GettingThroughThisTogether

We have all been affected by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in different ways and to varying degrees. The longevity of COVID-19, the fatigue that many are experiencing, and the impact of uncertainty on our mental health and wellbeing is a reality for all Australians – and our mental health is just as important as...

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Heathmont Financial Services Pty Ltd (ABN 68 106 250 104) trading as Heathmont Financial Services is a Corporate Authorised Representative (No. 262098) of Knox Wealth Management Pty Ltd (ABN 74 630 256 227), Australian Financial Services Licence Number (AFSL) 513763.

Julian McGoldrick is an Authorised Representative (No. 262098) of Knox Wealth Management Pty Ltd AFSL 513763.

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