Investment and super fees: Don't cut off your nose to spite your face! (Hostplus Indexed Balanced)

Each year, we write an update to this article – see here. It is very important to minimise investment fees and I have written about this previously. However, it is equally (sometimes more) important to ensure you invest in such a way that positions you to enjoy superior returns. I believe that you can do …

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4 crucial tax implications of becoming a non-resident (for tax purposes)

Thousands of Australians head offshore each year to live and work overseas indefinitely, thereby ceasing their Australian ‘tax’ residency. However, there can often be confusion about the tax implications for taxpayers who take advantage of such offshore opportunities. A taxpayer who is a resident for Australian tax purposes is taxed on their Australian sourced and …

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How does negative gearing work?

There are many reasons why people are attracted to borrow money to invest in bricks and mortar. One of the most common reasons is the ability to offset the cost of owning the property against assessable income – a strategy known as ‘negative gearing’. Negative gearing occurs when the operating costs of a property is …

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How do banks set interest rates?

Understanding how banks set interest rates can help you make better informed decisions, particularly in regard to identifying the best lender to use. There are three main factors that influence rates. And some products and lenders may be influenced by only one or two of these factors. 1) Cost of funds ‘Cost of funds’ refers …

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Preparing for a loan application… what has changed

Many clients are surprised by how thorough the loan approval process has become. The government has put pressure on the banks over the past 18 months to tighten up their credit assessment processes. The purpose of this blog is to give you an overview of what the banks look at, what questions they ask and …

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