The major themes from Q3, namely labour and supply shortages, shipping bottlenecks and inflation, all flowed into Q4, but they were joined by a new contender for investor attention: the Omicron Covid variant. Despite Omicron being more contagious, some countries resolved to push on through the wave of infections, while others reintroduced restrictions to try and reduce the spread. As data from Q3 filtered out during Q4, it showed economic growth was slowing, but 2021 sees several major economies on track to record their strongest GDP growth in more than thirty years. Finally, some central banks have stepped up to combat inflation with interest rate rises coming fast in emerging markets.

We’re going back to basics this week and looking at all things “SMSF.” As the name suggests, a self-managed super fund (or SMSF) is a private superannuation fund that individuals manage themselves. It is established for the sole purpose of providing financial benefits to members in their retirement, & to protect & provide for their loved ones following their death. One of the biggest benefits of SMSFs is that they give their members complete control & flexibility over how they choose to invest their funds.

Many New Year’s resolutions include money. Saving more, spending less,

& increasing earnings are common goals for the New Year. Getting started can be a daunting task, & many are intimidated to do so - but you don’t have to be a sophisticated investor to manage your finances well. Here are 7 simple steps that will make a significant improvement to your finances this year.

We would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Thank you for all your support throughout what has been a very trying year.

We hope the festive season is one of peace, joy and happiness with your friends and family. We look forward to working with you in the year ahead, and wish you all the best for 2022.

Christmas is traditionally a time of giving – including employers showing gratitude towards staff for a job well done. However, Christmas parties and gifts can attract the attention of the ATO.

The frustration with inflation is it’s basically a stealth tax. And while we keep hearing the word “transitory” that’s also a stealthy word. Quite often when prices increase, they don’t necessarily decrease again. They are baked in. That’s not transitory. Petrol/oil being the most notable exception where prices do decrease after an increase. Inflation may slow down, which is what is implied by transitory, but if your wages don’t keep up with those initial rises then you are going backwards.

Across our broad client base, we are fortunate to have a number of very successful long term business owners. Over time, we’ve been able to observe some of their investment processes, both good and bad. In this article we have compiled a snapshot of those observations.

We are living through some challenging times on many fronts and as always, global political and social events inevitably make their presence felt in the financial markets. This is our wrap up of Q3, 2021.

We are hiring. The Assistant Accountant will be responsible for overseeing the preparation and lodgement of a large number of business activity statements for our clients. In addition, the team member will be responsible for initial contact with our clients around this regular touch point, answering client employment queries along with client's internal accounting questions.

In recent years, the relationship between Casual Employees and Employers has come under the microscope, in particular the right to leave entitlements and conversion to full time status. For many employees despite working regular and consistent hours over a long period of time, they are still classified as casual employees without the security or benefits of a permanent employee. In light of this, the Fair Work Act 2009 has been updated and the amendments came into effect on 27th March 2021.

Australia’s worst super funds have finally been placed in the village stocks for all to see. The YourSuper comparison tool was released earlier this year, it offered investors the ability to sort through various super fund options who have a MySuper default option and compare fees and returns over a 7 year period.

It’s difficult to consider how your family will be looked after and how your assets will be treated following your death. However, implementing a clear estate plan ensures that your wishes will be honoured and your loved ones will be cared for when you’re no longer around. You may already be familiar with the benefits of a Will, but have you considered a Testamentary Trust? If you think Testamentary Trusts are only for complex estates or the very wealthy, they’re not – so read on!

Inflation, for so long a low priority concern for investors, came storming back into the headlines recently with news that Australian consumer prices had risen at their fastest annual pace in almost 13 years. What are we to make of this?

Seven News recently featured a story on rocker Jimmy Barnes. Jimmy was selling up his family home in Sydney to move to his new base in the Southern Highlands of NSW. What was the price to take over the working-class man’s converted Botany warehouse? Jimmy was hoping to get $4 million, after paying $1.61 million 17 years ago and spending another $1.6 million on renovations. The reporter described it as a “clever investment”. Putting $3.21 million into something and getting $4 million back after 17 years is an annualised return on investment of 1.3% (not what we would describe as a “clever investment”.

A study from 2010 titled Predicting the Next Big Thing: Success as a Signal of Poor Judgement, measured biannual economic forecasts published in The Wall Street Journal. The study found that someone who successfully predicted an extreme event was perversely more likely to be a poor forecaster.