Insights and Research

Have you ever considered hiring a professional to help you with your finances? Maybe you’re not sure what to expect and secretly you’re worried you’ll get ripped off. The whole world of financial professionals seems complicated and a bit mysterious. Well, I have a bit of a unique insight into the world of financial professionals.…

When it comes to maintaining your financial wellbeing in retirement, it’s important to understand that as you enter this phase of your financial lifecycle a certain shift in economic resources often occurs. Namely, a shift from predominantly employment income* to income derived from a combination of your retirement savings (investments inside and outside of super) and any potential social security entitlements. *However,…

Australian investors saw a $5,356 return on their investments in 2021, according to new analysis of the average Australian portfolio. Three-quarters of investors saw a positive return over the last 12 months, the Finder analysis found, with the average investor’s portfolio now $31,613. Another 15 per cent saw no change and 10 per cent experienced a…

Imagine going to your insurer to make a claim after a car accident, only to find that you’re no longer insured. That’s exactly what happened to Ally Barker* when her abusive relationship ended. Although both she and her ex-partner were on the policy, he cancelled the car insurance without her knowledge. As with many domestic…

One of the risks retirees can face is the potential to run out of retirement savings by living longer than expected—commonly referred to as longevity risk. For many of us, super will form an integral part of our retirement savings. However, our ability to grow our super to a sufficient level during our working years can, at times,…

Australians jumped into the stock markets and crypto trading in a big way this year, with a massive increase in at-home investor numbers, largely thanks to COVID lockdowns. And now, share and trading platform Superhero has released its Year in Trades report, uncovering the most-traded assets in 2021. It includes both Australian and US companies…

You’ve shopped around, done your research into home loan providers and finally found the right home loan deal. As exciting as this may be, it can be turned on its head almost instantly if interest rates shift before the settlement of your property. The good news is that there is a solution. It’s called ‘rate locking’. Here’s a…

In our article, ‘Key home loan repayment considerations’, we discussed a proactive ongoing approach to paying off your home loan—considering it will most likely be the largest debt that you pay off in your lifetime. This can reduce the amount of interest you pay, and decrease the life of the loan. In turn, you can free…

Each year brings its own set of wins, challenges and lessons to learn, and 2021 was certainly no exception. It’s been an extraordinary year, hasn’t it? Especially for our property markets, where home values grew by more than 25 per cent in most locations. Property values have not grown at that rate since 1950, when…