Tag Archive for: Wealth creation

5 Important Health-Checks for your Retirement Portfolio in 2024

Retirement portfolios are like small businesses. They generate income from their assets, pay all kinds of bills, and make income payments to their beneficiaries. Some perform well and others languish, depending on their strategy and the broader environment.

Like small businesses, retirement portfolios come in all shapes and sizes. Some are conservative, highly diversified, and really quite boring. Others are geared to the gills, invested fully in mining town rentals bought sight unseen, or neck-deep in crypto and micro-cap stocks.

Reviewing your retirement portfolio

From a financial planning perspective, the most important ‘health checks’ for your retirement portfolio are as follows:

  1. Do your investments align with your risk profile?
  2. Is there a sensible amount of diversification?
  3. Is there sufficient cashflow and liquidity to fund ongoing and unexpected expenses and pension payments?
  4. Are your assets “high quality” and priced sensibly?
  5. Is your portfolio aligned with the times and the broader market environment?

2024 looks like a challenging year for small businesses around the country. Rising prices and a more cautious consumer make some business models unviable, particularly if they have large operating debts. Insolvencies are on the rise and many ‘zombie’ companies are finally being put to the sword after years of low rates and government intervention.

This flows through to retirement portfolios directly. It influences the type of investments that are likely to perform well and those that will struggle. But it also applies more practically to the ongoing management of retirement investments, particularly as it relates to cashflow and liquidity.

Like any good small business owner, investors need to have contingency plans for unexpected setbacks and periods of underperformance. “Hope for the best but plan for the worst” comes to mind in this instance. While we’ve enjoyed strong investment returns over the last six months, the year ahead promises to take many unexpected turns. Point #3 in the checklist above is a key consideration in our view.

If you would like to book a complimentary appointment with one of our Financial Advisers to review your retirement portfolio, please get in touch.

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About the author

PJ_Cameron - Financial Adviser Launceston Tasmania

Peter-James (PJ) Cameron
Financial Adviser

PJ provides proactive, strategic advice to help you invest with confidence, structure your affairs intelligently, and get the most out of your unique circumstances. Contact us today and ask to speak with PJ. 

Contact us

Peter-James Cameron is a Sub-authorised Representative (#1266801 ) of Synectic Wealth Pty Ltd (ABN 24 615 317 194) which is a Corporate Authorised Representative (#1250871) of Alliance Wealth Pty Ltd (ABN 93 161 647 007 | AFSL 449221) www.centrepointalliance.com.au. Synectic Wealth Pty Ltd is the financial services division of Synectic. Learn more here.

This information has been provided as general advice. We have not considered your financial circumstances, needs or objectives. You should consider the appropriateness of the advice. You should obtain and consider the relevant Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and seek the assistance of an authorised financial adviser before making any decision regarding any products or strategies mentioned in this communication.

Review your financial situation for 2024

New Year’s resolutions often fade away, but the commitment to pause, reflect and review your financial situation each year is one that should endure. At Synectic, we encourage you to make this your top priority early in 2024. To get started, consider the following:

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$3.5 Trillion -The price of “Equity and Sustainability”

Our Superannuation system is getting more “1984” by the day.

The Government is trying to legislate a “shared purpose” for superannuation that introduces a requirement for “equity and sustainability” to the existing legal requirement to grow member benefits for retirement.

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Benefits of Direct Australian Share Investments in Superannuation

There are significant benefits associated with taking an independent, individually managed approach to investments in Superannuation. This is particularly true as investment balances grow and retirement planning commences.

Australian Superannuation funds are under the spotlight as the retirement system adapts to ageing demographics and longer life expectancies, and the retirement savings pool grows to become an increasingly large asset on the Nation’s balance sheet. The Superannuation Guarantee (SG) was introduced over 30 years ago and the system has matured. Funds under management have since grown to $3.4 trillion (as at the end of December 2022).

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International shares for Aussie investors

Many Australian investors prefer to invest in Australian shares rather than international shares. It makes sense for a range of reasons:

  • it’s a good rule of thumb to invest in what you know;
  • franked dividends provide tax-effective income; and
  • the Australian share market has performed strongly over the long-run, outperforming broad international share markets (MSCI World ex-Australia) by around 2% p.a. over the last 20 years.
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Investment decisions in a time of inflation risk

“I don’t want my super going to zero,” said a prospective client during a recent risk profiling discussion. “I want conservative investment decisions that won’t lose money over time.”

In uncertain economic times it’s tempting to avoid investment decisions and hold onto cash. This is opposite to the temptation to chase investment returns while everyone else is making money hand over fist (think 12 months ago).

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Financial planning in the new financial year requires a long view

Bill Gates famously quoted that, “Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years”. Regardless of your view of Bill Gates (and whacky conspiracy theories abound), the adage captures something inherent in human nature. We’re impatient to achieve our goals and equally, we aren’t accurate long-term thinkers. This doesn’t bode well for robust financial planning.

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SMSF Investments

Recently I’ve had a number of clients enquire about the pros and cons of setting up a Self-Managed Super Fund (SMSF). They have an instinct to get more control over their investments in Super. But they’re hesitant about the additional work involved in running a SMSF and are unsure of the costs.

There’s no perfect answer to the question, assuming one has sufficient funds to make it cost-effective. Anecdotally, I have seen a broad range of SMSF outcomes.

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A simple way to get the best rate for your term deposit

Term Deposits are a low-risk investment option, with a fixed rate of return, allowing you to make plans for the interest you will earn. But finding the best interest rates, worrying about re-investment dates and wading through paperwork can be a real hassle!

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Six tips for SMSFs investing in property

As a Self-managed Super Fund (SMSF) trustee you might, at some stage, want to invest in property as part of your fund’s investment strategy.

Before you do, you should fully consider the risks associated with property investment. Holding a “real property investment” can affect other aspects of your fund, such as benefit payments, and any investment must comply with superannuation laws.

Here are 6 issues to consider before your SMSF makes a property investment:

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