If you start thinking something like “This is all of our life saving, we can’t afford to lose any of it, or we can’t afford to take any risk in the stock market.” I would ask, can you really afford not to invest? Are you sure about that?
Ladies, don’t put your financial security at risk
Numerous studies suggest that women often defer to their spouses or partners when it comes to making long-term financial decisions, a choice that can put them at a distinct disadvantage in the event of divorce or death of a spouse and significantly interrupt a woman’s financial path.
Simply Super
Finding $20 in your pocket is always great but imagine finding thousands of dollars in super that you had lost track of? According to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), as at 17 May 2019, there were AUD$ 17.5 billion funds in lost and unclaimed super money, and we know that a large proportion of these funds belongs to Kiwis.
In one's best interest
Trust comes naturally to some professions. The top three trustworthy professions in New Zealand are doctors/nurses, engineers and teachers. It makes sense, at their core we must trust these professions with our health, safety and children.
Lightening the mental load
It’s no great secret that as we age our bodies begin to go into some form of decline, it can’t be disputed because the evidence is visible. Mental decline isn’t visible, no one knows what’s happening in anyone else’s head. This means it might be more open to dispute, delaying any response.
Closing the gap
Women need to educate themselves about how to mitigate things like illness and the loss of a partner and talk to an expert about things like estate planning, life and health insurance, investing and retirement planning. The more informed and prepared women are for these things, the better they will feel, and the more protected they will be.
The 100-year Life
100th article and two years for our ‘Canny View’ column. We've come a long way, to say the least. For the 100th article, I thought I would write about the 100-year life because we are living longer than ever and there is now an increased possibility that one might live to 100.
Transitioning to a Goals Based Future
Any successful career will at one point see a peak and then a decline. There comes a point in time when past successes become questions asking, ‘can I do it again?’ The dilemma of the past is one that often confronts investors who visit an adviser for the first time.
Optimism is the only realism
There’s a lot of fear about what happens next in financial markets and across the world economy. What should you do in response? Firstly, as always, our advice is to do nothing. We know you’ve heard us say this before, but in this instance, it’s even more important you don’t panic and don’t react.
What it means to run a Trust in 2021?
On 30th July, an important piece of legislation which affects many people received a Royal Assent but received little media attention. It’s the Trusts Act 2019. With New Zealand having the highest number of trusts per capita in the world, new landmark legislation has critical implications for the thousands of trustees and many more beneficiaries of these structures.
Timing isn't everything
It's been quite a time for the markets this August. First the Reserve Bank cut the Official Cash Rate to a new record low of 1 per cent and last week we observed the first inversion of the US yield curve between two-year bonds and 10-year bonds since 2007.
We all need to know financial control
Clearly anyone can quickly pick up cooking, laundry or start the hedge trimmer if needed, but finances can be daunting and difficult if there’s no familiarity there. A lack of financial knowledge can be paralysing if a person is suddenly confronted with financial demands.
And it's a cut, again!
New Zealand appears to be stuck in an economic malaise. Household debt has never been higher, wage growth tends to lag, and gross domestic product per capita (everyone’s share of the economic pie) annual growth has been shrinking. And this was with interest rates already at record lows. Solution? Cut interest rates further.
Don’t risk being under-insured
Owning something valuable, such as a house, car or boat, without insuring it means taking a huge financial risk. For that reason, around 95 per cent of New Zealanders have insurance to protect against loss due to disaster, accident or theft. However, when it comes to protecting themselves and their family’s future, the majority have little or no insurance cover.
Five Lessons from a Ponzi scheme victim
Ross Asset Management was the biggest Ponzi-scheme ever happened in NZ when it unfolded in 2012 – it is said investors had $450 million with Ross but only $10m was recovered. In reality the figure invested was closer to $110m as most of the $450m were accumulated fictious returns. About 200 have signed up to the claim so far.
The Cricket World Cup, Outcome Bias and Outrageous Fortune
Given how unfathomable the game of cricket is for the uninitiated (and initiated) I am at pains to reference such a wonderfully convoluted activity; however, sometimes sport offers up such vivid examples of our behavioural biases in action that it proves irresistible subject matter.
The IPO Saga
The hype in new IPOs continues to be huge. The recent announcement by Hawke’s Bay Regional Council approving to float a 45% stake in the Napier Port on July 15th has stirred up a lot of interest among many investors in New Zealand.
Using and Abusing Warren Buffett quotes
Heard of Warren Buffett? You probably have. You might not really know much about him, but that’s ok. World’s most famous investor. World’s greatest investor. Take your pick. He’s reasonably well known and has been reasonably successful, to put it mildly.
Strategies for the five ages of KiwiSaver
There are five ages of KiwiSaver. Each of them calls for different strategies to get the best from New Zealand's $50 billion savings scheme offers. People jumped into KiwiSaver, many when the $1000 kickstarter was still available for their kids, and what happened was they became disengaged.
Have you got it covered?
Our income is our most valuable asset. If you had to stop working due to an injury or illness the Government’s safety net (ACC) would catch you, but only just.
