Archive for September, 2009
RIPOLL INQUIRY »
This is an interesting article I received today talking about the changes that are occurring in the Australian Financial Services industry. I find it interesting that NZ is going through a similar transitional period and therefor I take note of what is occurring in Oz as the odds are in favor of NZ following suit in many areas. A review [...]
LAQC or Not LAQC »
This is a question I am asked by nearly every single client when they buy an investment property. As a Financial Planner in Australia the concept of an LAQC was new to me in 2004 and because you can achieve the tax benefits of an LAQC without having to have one I though it was just another way for accountants to increase their billable hours to [...]
Getting the (insurance) lingo right »
by Sue Laing | Friday, 18 September 2009 If you are a full financial planner handling wealth accumulation, management and protection, you will be regularly facing a challenge few advisers seem to have yet conquered. Unless you have a referral base that feeds you nothing but public servants (unlikely) the challenge manifests as the need to [...]
Pensioner Awarded Compensation and Costs Against »
In my opinion this has been a long time coming and it is about time it happened. I also think we will see more of it in the future especially as new regulation comes in. In what has been regarded a landmark case, a client has been awarded compensation of around $250,000 by the court for “negligence and breach of fiduciary duty” by her [...]
Diversification hard to come by »
by Gabriel Lacroix | Thursday, 24 September 2009 With growth asset classes highly correlated, and returns on cash and bonds creating a portfolio drag, diversification opportunities are scarce but possible, according to investment strategist, Norman Stacey. Mixed and lagging economic data, worries of relapse and dithering cash rich investors [...]
General NZ Update »
This morning (9am on 25 September 2009) the money markets were at the following levels: Official cash rate 2.50% (unchanged) 90 day bill rate 2.78 (unchanged) 1 year swap rate 3.14 (up from 3.03) 3 year swap rate 4.73 (up from 4.63) 10 year bond rate 6.05 (up from 6.00) Kiwi dollar 0.7205 (up from [...]
Success »
My wife sent me this little saying because it made her think of me :) The heights by great men reached and kept Were not attained by sudden flight, But they, while their companions slept, Were toiling upward in the night. --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Tips To Eliminate Debt »
Debt is an accepted part of life for property investors. It quite simply comes with the territory. Experienced investors recognise the difference between good debt (tax deductible) & bad debt (non-tax deductible used to acquire assets that don’t produce an income). Less well recognised is that there are good ways to pay down [...]
Demand for luxury apartments picks up »
The following article is of interest to myself being the owner of a Penthouse in Auckland that is currently for sale. Jazial Crossley | Tuesday July 28 2009 - 04:01pm The market for high end apartments is increasingly healthy, with buyers still opening their wallets and rental pressure remaining strong. One of Auckland’s top [...]
8 key lessons from the GFC »
by Gabriel Lacroix | Thursday, 17 September 2009 A year after US investment bank Lehman Brothers failed and set off the rollercoaster ride that became the Global Financial Crisis, the world has pulled back from the brink - but there are at least eight lessons investors must learn from it, according to AMP Capital Investors' Head of Investment [...]
