Never underestimate the Power of Income



Yes that was the key message we were reminded  from Matt who speaks on Sky & a key man for Perpetual, a very major fund manager.

We had heard it before & being reminded was very useful. In fact we have written about it before.

The question always is where is the best place to invest?

The answer always is ‘it depends’.

Two important variables are ‘how long?’ & what is your ‘risk appetite’

What can we invest in?

Really there are only four major classes: gold, cash, property & shares.

Yes they all have subsets such as property with residential, office, commercial, industrial, international…

Then there is the time frame . 

If it is for a short term then cash is where we go. i.e. cash, term deposits via banks or bonds from corporates or governments or institutions.

Investment has two outcomes growth & income.

As Matt said & as Rich Dad, Poor Dad wrote.  [A compulsory book for you to read we might  add].

Assets produce income & liabilities cost you

Gold doesn’t produce an income & the reason why Warren Buffett doesn’t invest in gold.

Your home doesn’t produce an income & Rich Dad Poor Dad teaches you why that is so.

Very simply your home costs you maintenance, & the interest is bad debt & non deductible. So are the costs of insurance , rates, tradesmen….. There is opportunity cost where your equity could be elsewhere invested

A house is like a spouse; it requires money & maintenance.’

Your home is a liability. It is a lifestyle.

If we consider  so called investment property then in most cases the cashflow is negative. So it too is a liability & we have argued that unless you make a nominal 100K over time then you have gone backward.


Let’s look at what Matt demonstrated with both growth & income being the total return.
He took it over a long period of time from the end of 1974.

Gold returned only 14 times the original investment.                       [It pays no income.]

Cash  returned only 20 times.                       [ It does not  grow & the income is variable.]

Residential property 48 times.                 [Matt stated that the costs are 70% of income]

Listed property trusts returned 102 times.        [net income is higher as costs are lower]

Equities produced 180 times.              [profits grow & reinvested which increases prices &      dividends]. [Yes there are industrial shares & resource shares…  but let’s keep it simple.]

 Matt stated that we have the same results over any such long time period.
[The assumptions are very rigorous  & from sources such as RBA & UBS & REIA.]

Yes we can make all the emotional comments which is reflected in our ‘risk profile’.

Investments are like the tides & relationships. They go up & down.

We read today that retirees who have 700K to 1 million houses have on average 200K in their super.
What is 200K or even 500k going to provide in retirement income to you?

Not today’s lifestyle which is why we need to not underestimate the Power of Income.

i.e. asset rich Income poor.

There is too much emphasis on growth. That's impatience.

Remember we as a booming baby expects to  have a long investment horizon of 30+ years.

As we have also read simply reinvesting the income back into the asset & not spending it makes you money over a longer time.

The income & the tax refund is the portfolio & not yours to spend.

 Let’s do it.

‘If we were in your position what would we do so that you are better off in three years time.’

·         We could discuss that your super is not an asset. However if you qualify we might turn it into an asset.

·         We could discuss turning your home into an asset & switching your debt into good deductible debt.

It's your responsibility to save so you can enjoy a good standard of living in your retirement’.

You are welcome to call us on 07 3848 1088 or email us or visit our websites.

John McAuliffe

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