New Zealand house prices are over 160% higher now than in 2011. Yep, that’s a real number. Let that sink in for a minute.

The “I” word keeps popping up at the moment; Inflation.

What will your money be worth in a years’ time? Or ten? What will you be able to afford by then? Do you have enough to retire on?

We are frequently asked by investors and trustees – do financial advisers get audited?

As an investor, you want peace of mind. You need to know that not only is your adviser competent, but also that they’re acting in your best interest.

If you weren’t already weary of living through historic events in recent years, here’s another driver for rapid change: inflation is on the rise, and quickly. In New Zealand the annual inflation has jumped to 4.9% in the September quarter compared to the June 2021 quarter which was reported to be 3.3%.

Buying a house these days is turning into quite the luxury. If we dig deeper just into the statistics of Hawke’s Bay, we can see the prices of our properties have skyrocketed. Adding to matters, the Reserve Bank’s just announced the first cash rate rise in 7 years – some retail banks immediately passed this increase on to borrowers, while others are phasing them in slowly.

To my surprise, we’ve chalked up five years of writing our ‘Canny View’ column. It truly is a milestone to have five years’ worth of weekly columns under our belt – and to have our community continuing to engage with them. To celebrate Canny View’s 5th anniversary, we’ve compiled five of our top articles:

The social media is blowing up with ongoing talks about a hamster. A hamster? It may come as a surprise, but a hamster in Germany is proving "A Random Walk Down Wall Street" author Burton Malkiel's hypothesis that a blindfolded monkey throwing darts at a stock ticker list in the newspaper could do just as well as a human investment professional.

It is perhaps no surprise that financial stress can impact your mental health. This stress can also impact your relationships, particularly with your significant other. As a whole, we have a tendency to brush the issue of financial stress off as part of life - however, it can cause a tremendous amount of emotional strain, both personally and in your relationship.

When it comes to investing, we need to distinguish between two very different types of risk: good risk and bad risk. Good risk is the type you are compensated for, in the form of greater expected returns. For example, shares are riskier than bonds, therefore over time, shares must compensate investors by providing greater expected returns.

With good planning, some retirees may already be handling their new circumstances in a good way. Staying home may have resulted in spending less, especially if they’re travellers or have active social lives. Market falls aren’t welcome, but with an understanding, they happen, along with a portfolio built to withstand them, there can be good results.

While we understand the impact of COVID-19, the biggest global health crisis in 4 generations, Alzheimer’s disease demands more attention. But why? Every 3 seconds, someone in the world develops dementia and with the current number of dementia being 50 million people this number is only set to double over the next 20 years reaching 82 million in 2030.

The outbreak of COVID-19 has ushered in a new situation. Risk sits at the forefront of every investor's thinking right now. For retirement savers, it is uncomforting to see the value of their portfolios shrink substantially within such a short period.

Okay, so many of us may have heard our peers and family members say that we should cancel 2020 and start afresh with 2021! We can all agree that it has been a tough battle with many unexpected changes along the way. It’s remarkable how well the nation has adapted to these dramatic changes to our everyday lives.

A topic we can all understand is coffee, wouldn’t it be great if making financial decisions were as simple as buying a cup of coffee? This is where financial advisors come to play and become the answer booklets to these questions. Their primary goal is to help clients determine whether they are on the right track to meet their goals and outline their path to overall financial success.

We’d all love for the market to go on a winning streak forever. Reaching record highs and blowing minds; but the truth is, downturns are a reality, particularly if you are a long-term investor.

Reusable bags, paper straws and recycling are great initiatives, but many have elevated their thinking to sustainable investing. Kiwis are increasingly interested in how they can make their investment decisions in accord with their views about human rights, climate change and environmental sustainability. But where does one start?