2025 Federal Budget

2025 Budget

Tonight, the Albanese government released its federal budget for the 2025/26 financial year. Assuming the government is re-elected before the end of May 2025, here’s my clear and concise breakdown of the key announcements: Income tax cuts From 1 July 2026, the income tax rate on earnings between $18,201 and $45,000 will reduce by 1%, …

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Hotspotting versus buy-and-hold: Which strategy is better?  

Hotspotting

Since the start of 2020, property prices in relatively affordable regional markets have risen strongly compared to capital cities, partly driven by Covid lockdowns and higher interest rates.  I have come across numerous posts from buyer’s agents on social media showcasing the strong short-term gains their clients have made. For example, “Bought this property four …

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Is property development an effective way to build wealth?  

property development

There are generally three ways to make money: through passive investing, starting, and building a business, and speculation. This blog primarily focuses on pure investing, which in simple terms, involves investing capital to achieve high returns with the least amount of risk.  It’s crucial to distinguish between these approaches because they can sometimes overlap, complicating …

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How advisors boost share portfolio returns 

advisor, portfolio

I recently met with a new client that I had previously met 10 years ago. Back then, he opted to work with an advisor in his home state rather than engaging us, since he did not live in Victoria. In the end, he never found an advisor and decided to manage his investments himself.  Fast …

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Asset rich but cash flow poor? Coinvesting in property with your super could be the solution 

super

In last week’s blog, I compared the financial and tax effectiveness of investing in property through your super (with borrowings) versus investing in property outside of super or sticking with the traditional approach of investing your super in an industry super fund, for instance (no gearing).  I concluded that while the potential benefit of avoiding …

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What makes a mortgage broker great? 

mortgage broker

When I started ProSolution back in 2002, we only offered mortgage broking services. I left a career in corporate finance at Deloitte to establish a mortgage broking firm because I strongly believed in the tremendous value brokers can provide to clients. In fact, around 2010–2012, I even wrote a manifesto outlining why I believed that …

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How to invest in the share market in 2025: index funds, managed funds, or direct shares?  

share market

If you’ve been following my blogs for a while, you’ll know that I’m a strong advocate for evidence-based investment strategies. Put simply, I only employ investment strategies that have a proven track record – where the evidence overwhelmingly shows that a rules-based approach has consistently delivered strong returns over many decades. This approach gives us …

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