Property data is not always right, or helpful

My professional life has been all about “the numbers” for more than two decades! So, as an accountant and financial advisor, it pains me to say that numbers are not always right! Numbers are factual, verifiable, logical and the ‘robustness’ gives me a lot of confidence. However, when it comes to investing in property, a …

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Why would you refinance? (Hint: not because of rates)

According to the ABS, the number of people refinancing their mortgage increased by over 63% in the year to May 2020. Quite often people think the only reason to refinance is to obtain a lower interest rate. However, this thinking is incorrect. Typically, you don’t need to refinance to obtain a lower interest rate (more …

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Why you should stick to your day job

There are three ways to generate passive income; start a business, invest or speculate. The key word in that sentence is passive. Passive means you can generate economic benefits without the requirement of your personal exertion. Since it doesn’t require personal exertion, it frees up your time to spend it on activities or with the …

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Which super fund produced the best returns in 2019/20?

Despite the share market volatility as a result of Covid-19, many industry super funds produced positive investment returns last financial year. Whilst that might seem entirely good news, there are some concerns for which industry super fund members should be aware of. Let’s start with the good news first I have compared the largest 8 Australian …

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Why is the share market crazy?

You may have read commentary that the share market isn’t reflecting reality at the moment. For example, the share market can rise by 3% on the same day that we receive bad news in respect to the spread of the virus. Spectators are left thinking how can market values rise when global economic expectations are …

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What impact will Melbourne’s virus lockdown have on property and economy?

Melbourne’s Covid transmission outbreak has been widely publicised by the media. Melbourne’s daily positive test rate is relatively benign by world standards (i.e. 0.5-0.6% versus 7.5% in the USA). However, the reinstated 6-week lockdown of Melbourne is likely to have a negative impact on Australia’s economy. Melbourne is responsible for producing over 19% of Australia’s …

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Not all low-cost index methodologies exhibit the same risks and opportunities

Over the past decade, investors and large institutions have been deserting expensive active fund managers in return for using their cheaper index equivalents. According to Morningstar, investors in the US withdrew $USD204 million from actively managed investments (net) in the 2019 calendar year. However, low cost index funds continued to grow in popularity receiving (net) …

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