If you keep an ear out on the investment world, you will hear a lot said about risk. But many people do not really understand risk, so this week, as something of an antidote to the politics dominating the airwaves, we thought we would spend some time talking about it.
Last week we discussed how the Governor of the Reserve Bank Phillip Lowe recently recommended that home borrowers ensure that they have a ‘buffer’ against the time when interest rates inevitably rise. Interest rate buffers are not the only type of buffer in good financial planning. Buffers are used in many areas, but the need for buffers always comes from the same source: understanding that the way things are now is not likely to be the way things are in the future.
This week we came across an interesting little read from Fidelity International, an international fund manager. Their article examined the composition of Australian household wealth as of the end of 2020, which is about as recent as the data gets when it comes to this kind of thing.
We love reading those ‘Dear Abbey’ type letters to the newspaper. Especially the financial ones. Here is a classic we read recently – and what we would do if this were our client.
Our apologies if you do not like cricket, but it is a sport with much to teach us about money management. Cricket can often provide a brilliant metaphor for money management – it must be all the maths that both cricket and finance demand.
Passive income is the income generated by our investments. Because it is not linked to our time or (necessarily) our skill, passive income is not limited in the way that active income is. Indeed, it is possible to earn passive income even while we sleep.
Earlier this month, Australia’s Reserve Bank dropped their target for interest rates to its lowest rate ever. This has dampened interest rates across the economy – as you will have noticed if you are a borrower or a saver. Rates will stay low for at least three years, so now is a great time to review your financial plan to make best use of these low rates.
Next week brings the first day of Spring – an arrival that can’t come soon enough in this most strange year! To mark the changing of the seasons, this week we take a lighthearted look at the relationship between money management and the weather. You might be surprised to know that serious researchers have looked at this question. So, for investors, could it really be a case of “Hello Sunshine?”
They say the secret to successful comedy is all in the timing. Funnily enough, the same goes for investment or debt management. But unlike with comedy, when it comes to money it is usually best to get in early. That’s because anything that earns interest is worth acquiring earlier - and anything that charges interest is worth paying off as soon as possible.
The ‘mental side’ of money management is always important. Given the events of 2020, how we think about money has become even more vital. While no one really knows what the lasting economic impact of the Coronavirus will be, the one thing that we can be certain about is that many of our working assumptions will need to be changed. The new world will not be like the old world. We will all need to think differently when it comes to our finances.
