Twelve reasons to talk to us before June 30

Do you really want to fund 12B for fighter jets or fund another’s Lifestyle?

There is probably no better time to visit us  than right now prior to the end of the Taxx year.

If you want to minimise taxx or tune up your financial affairs then now is the time for action.

The window of opportunity closes with finality on that date! The benefits are there for you.

Which of these situations and opportunities can you utilise to maximise so that 'you are better off in three years time.'?

1.    Transition to retirement

You need to Know that there are advantages to  ensure a smooth transition to retirement.

E.g. reducing your mortgage or credit card debt today.

This is very relevant for all who are over 55 today as the rules will change on the 1^st January regarding pension tests.

As you pay zero taxx inside a pension fund when compared to super taxx on earning of 15 % it is also a smart tune up.

Remember we deliver personally to you the tactical and strategic advice that can be in the form of education, deciding on which product and on  its implementation.

2. Aggregating your superannuation into one fund

The number of people with multiple super funds is quite amazing. Helping you gather all your super bits and pieces into one simple to administer fund needs to be done sometime .

Why not do it with a non aligned adviser who will  have other useful suggestions for you.

We have Amy who spent a week ‘going around in circles’ trying to do that herself.

3. The opportunity to get a tax deduction for Income Protection

June 30 focuses you on tax deductibility.

Income protection is one such issue that needs  to be addressed before you need it to help maintain your lifestyle.

Travelling on the free-way @ Easter make us very aware of the need for cover. One Blink is all it takes.

 “If  we  could also show you a way to get a tax deduction of $1,000.00 before June 30, would you be interested?”

However can you get the cover is another issue as we have had 5 declined recently which makes us wonder what would their claim be if they had of gone direct & paid premiums.

Direct companies decline 40% of all claims.

Get it while you can.

4. Reviewing your nomination of beneficiary under your industry super fund(s)

The number of incorrect and out of date nomination of beneficiary cases is astounding.

This needs to be done now & it is too important for those you care about to be wrong.

We had an example of one whose beneficiary was his late mother even though married with 2 children aged 4 & 6. Unbelievable.

5. Ascertaining the amount of money to be allotted to your super

 Now rather than post June 30 is the time to discuss your super contributions and the type of investments they want to enter into. The limits have changed on how much you can contribute into your super.

What will be  your  final or projected figures on retirement?

 Do we need a lesson on compound interest? ‘, 'the riddle of the lily pad.’?

6. Transferring your life cover into your super

There are various advantages and limitations on placing your life cover into your super.

Be very  aware of the pros and cons of each scenario.

Discuss this with us now. Let’s make the decision.

7. Have you had  any event changes such as new family members, deaths or divorces?

The changes to your family and business fiscal health gives you an excellent reason to call us on 07 3848 1088 for  a “review and comparison” of strategy, tactics and which product  for you too.

8. Are your Employer contributions to your super correct?

Do you actually know what your entitlements are?

9. There are new & better products in insurance.

The new products, improvements and alterations to existing contracts created by the companies are quite astounding.

If you don’t know about the changes then you might be missing out.

e.g. One company provides amongst others benefits a 7.5% discount if you attend a gym.

10. Have you had your General Insurance review?

General & medical insurance just keeps going up & is there a better way.

We certainly have ideas for you to consider. Others have.

11. You might review your salary packaging

Let’s start talking to you about the advantages and benefits of what you are eligible for.

 Why not find  a check-list of what can be packaged. Let’s make  an opportunity to review your situation.

12. Have  you  been made redundant?

If so then now is the time to see how you can have help on such things as parking your super, reviewing their protection needs or even alerting you to potential employment opportunities. [We did to Andrew this week suggest a 20K better move.]

Which of these  opportunities is of interest & relevance before the end of June.

Now make the commitment to call us now on 07 3848 1088 or email us or visit our websites to check out our menu for lunch.

Do you really want to fund 12B for fighter jets or fund another’s Lifestyle?

Remember

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

‘Consumers do not trust online advice and still prefer to meet their financial planner face to face.

A Financial Services Council (FSC) research into consumers' digital engagement with superannuation and wealth management found that only 13% of Australians sought financial advice online, while 26% did it off-line.’

John McAuliffe

Is your super so super?

We had Ian & Mary here on Saturday for lunch after they went online for our advice. Their problem was their insurance premiums had increased so much & what could they do about it.

Here is the problem that they say 1 million+ Australians have

‘AustralianSuper insurance premiums to rise by 35%

Friday, 14 March 2014 11:35am

AustralianSuper will substantially increase its death and temporal and permanent disability (TPD) insurance premiums due to rising policy costs.

The 35% price hike is due to come in at the end of March and was confirmed by AustralianSuper group executive of membership Paul Schroder.

He told Financial Standard that the decision made due to the fact that policy costs had increased.

"Australia's super fund members have had access to relatively cheap insurance and are seeing premium prices rise across the board," Schroder said.

He added that Australia's largest super fund was also "thinking about the right level of default cover for new members" following the increase of claims and the losses suffered by insurers.

AustralianSuper was working closely with its insurer, TAL, to "find a middle ground, to try to reduce volatility and to avoid results changing dramatically depending on the market condition."

He revealed that representatives of the fund and TAL recently travelled to Zurich with reinsurer Swiss Re to look at solutions and strategies to tackle the issues that the sector is facing at the moment.

"We need to take a different view into the discussions and we need a good alignment between the trustee, the insurer and the reinsurer," Schroder said.

This price increase comes after AustralianSuper and REST lifted the cost of insurance to their members in the first half of last year.

The two super funds lifted the cost of insurance to their members increasing the cost of its death and total and permanent disability cover by around 38%, while the cost of income protection cover will increased by 25%

Retail industry fund, REST increased the cost of its death cover by around 45%, with TPD increased by 30% and income protection increased by 3%.’

 Why is this so?

We would argue lifestyle would be a major contributor as accidents make up a small % of all claims.

Ian & Mary are paying for others lifestyles &they  are not happy.

 Another reason they may not be happy is this fact we also read this week

Industry funds spend millions on advertising

Monday, 24 March 2014 11:45am

Industry superannuation funds are spending millions of dollars a year on advertising, with some funds' expenditure even exceeding that spent by banks on their own superannuation advertising campaigns, figures released by Nielsen show.

However, overall banks' advertising expenditure across their entire businesses still far exceeds that of industry superannuation funds.

According to Nielsen, between 6 January 2013 and 4 January 2014, AustralianSuper spent $9.37 million on advertising. The next biggest spender in the Industry SuperFund group was Cbus, at $4.84 million, followed by HESTA, which spent $2.75 million.

And also this week 

'One critic suggested that industry funds were "dipping into members' accounts". Another reader expressed surprise that industry funds could raise that sort of money when their member administration fees were so low.

But it does appear that the funds' actions are defensible. In Cbus' case all advertising expenditure comes from member administration fees. While Cbus' member administration fees are comparatively low - $1.50 a week - the fund has more than 700,000 members, giving an inflow of almost $55 million a year.

 AustralianSuper, with its two million plus members, garners almost $160 million a year in member admin fees. As not-for-profit bodies, this money cannot go to shareholders.

Speaking to Financial Standard, a reader questioned what benefit advertising brought industry fund members. "If you decide to sponsor something, it's generally because of a commercial reason. One would wonder what funds expect to get back from spending that money."

He speculated that the real aim of advertising was to increase funds under management, and questioned whether that was in the best interest of the members, in whose sole interest the not-for-profit funds must act.'

These facts certainly stressed Ian & Mary when we saw them.

Talk about a ‘silk purse from a sow’s ear??

Another problem & what really concerned them was having some life cover as estate planning for their children & grandchildren. The above super life cover expires before they probably do.

Ian & Mary were quite serious on moving to the Philippines where living is significantly cheaper.

We did not point out to them but another reason to be concerned is returns that other fund managers return.

We attended a Professional day last week & to quote Nicholas  ‘Buffett is not the only investment game in town.

You can invest with plenty of other, less well-known, market-beating investment managers.

These managers may have different styles from Buffett. But their biggest advantage may be that they manage a much smaller amount of money’.

e.g. 

Australian Shares Income Fund
Dedicated for pension / SMSF investors.
Best suited for investors who want:

Income focus

• 9.1% p.a. gross yield over the past 2 years*

Franking credits

• Over 2.3% p.a. franking credits over the past 2 years

Total return

• Over 21.7% p.a. over the past 2 years

All these returns were very good & these are not mentioned in the adverts that it us daily on TV or other.

Of course the past doesn’t mean future returns will be equally good.

Simon did call in on Saturday & we did show him far better returns that are available from this fund manager or many others.

 Why not call us on 07 3848 1088 or email us or visit our website to add ‘some yeast to your dough’.

Your biggest cost could be the difference in returns available elsewhere.

For once in my life we must agree with the world’s oldest profession

i.e. Don’t assume investors are rational, says Medcraft

‘Behavioural research shows investors are biased towards the default option, prefer a small reward today over a larger one later, tend to disengage when faced with complexity and are influenced by the relationship with the person delivering the message’

 We had to get all that off our chest as advisers are ridiculed in the media but strangely not by our clients.

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

We suggested one temporary solution & two more permanent solutions for Ian & Mary.

Who does your money vote for?

 

John McAuliffe

 

Now is the time to maximise what you have earned this financial year

I.e. There are only days left to the end of the financial year & to ensure effective tax planning now is the time to act.

As you are a very valued client you have previously asked me to complete you tax returns after June 30^th.

However, it certainly makes sense to all of us to be proactive with the many financial options that may be available before June 30^th.

I understand how difficult it is to create wealth in these uncertain times. This is why I recommend our preferred financial adviser John McAuliffe to my clients that will benefit.

Hence, we have arranged for you to experience a financial tune up with John with  your  first meeting is at my expense.

 If you have never worked with a financial adviser before you will be amazed how easy & effective it is.

 It is my way of saying thank you.

I have arranged with John as he does produce results for people. As you each have your own individual circumstances & goals, then it is important that these are taken into account.

Then he may suggest fine-tuning your current plans or having your own personal financial report to summarise how & what is required to achieve the wealth you want.

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

In 2014, I understand that making the right financial choices is more complex than it has ever been.

That is why I am pleased to offer this opportunity with John who has been financial advising for twenty nine years.

His fees are from profit sharing with you & only makes money when you do.

When you are ready to start, I suggest you call us on ……to book John  & reserve your own appointment time.

Be sure to ask for his special report entitled ‘Six Steps to Financial Freedom’.

You can visit www.johnmcauliffe.com.au  also.

Your proactive & concerned accountant

This is a letter that our panel of preferred accountants are sending to their clients.

We suggest that it is also relevant for you & you are welcome for lunch here Monday to Saturday before June 30 to discuss how you might be better off in three years time.

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

As mentioned our first meeting & lunch is at our expense.

John McAuliffe