Newsletter

In this newsletter:

• End of financial year commentary
• Estate Planning essentials
• New Aged Care Entry Financial Advice
• People in the Practice
• Personally speaking….

 

End of Financial Year

2015-16 has been a very volatile year in nearly all investment market sectors. The economies of most of the World have been shaken by frequent interferences from a number of external eco-political shocks; remember the Greek crisis, the China fears, the commodities price collapse and most recently Brexit which sent World share-markets tumbling and you’ve got a picture of the past year or so.

The instability has resulted in a very low rate of return from most asset classes (except listed property) and a strong drive by fund managers to focus on capital preservation rather than the risk of capital loss chasing spurious opportunities of gains.

Fortunately those of you that opted to invest via the Privilege range of products have had a much less volatile time and whilst yield has been low losses have been rare.

Then we had the Federal Election to contend with and all of its potential uncertainties with regard to investments in superannuation, contribution levels, pension benefits etc. and questions about ‘negative gearing’ and much more.

Now that the election outcome is clear, but not yet the actual policies set in stone, we can start to plan to assist you to live best within the new rules as they ultimately become clear.  There is much work to be done!

Estate Planning

In the past year there has been further changes to the governance of Enduring Powers of Attorney so much so that there are now multiple EPoA’s needed to get the full job done. For example it is now a requirement to have a separate EPoA for Financial matters (this can be more than one person holding the authority) and another for Medical matters (this can only be an individual person holding the authority).

We recommend that if you have an existing PoA under the old regime that you check with your lawyer to see if you need to upgrade.

In terms of Estate Wealth planning it is important to recognize that superannuation is a non-estate asset unless a Binding Death Benefit Nomination is made in favour of your executor. Another technique for getting wealth outside of your estate is to invest monies in an Insurance Investment Bond with a named beneficiary(ies). To keep money out of the estate or in the estate will vary with your personal circumstances, we can help in this discussion.

Aged Care Entry Financial Advice

Since we re-launched our practice into this space earlier this year we have enjoyed rapid growth in the delivery of services to existing and new clients.  Our knowledge and the power of sophisticated software allow us to present the family of a person going into Aged Care with up to 5 alternative strategies which describe key alternatives for funding the entry and ongoing costs of Aged Care. It is a complex area where a wrong decision can be very costly to current family cashflow and/or the future value of the family estate.

Our service is free to existing clients and available on a fee for service basis to friends that you might like to refer on to us.  You need to make sure that we get a call before any final decisions are made though, sometimes it is very hard to undo the mistakes that ill-informed people make in haste.

So, who do you know that is facing the prospect of entering Aged Care?

In the NFS Office

Joel has just returned from a 2 week break and into a new role as the senior para-planner for our practice, taking over from Ross who has covered this role on a part-time contract basis over the last couple of years.  Joel will also begin to study for his qualification to join Casey and Bob as a financial adviser and it is hoped he should reach this target by the end of this year.  His formal studies will build on the back of a very successful period as our Practice Manager where he has accumulated a great body of knowledge and skills already. We look forward to his success.

As part of this move by Joel, Ross will reduce his regular days to 1 day per week working on special projects, Gail and Rachel will continue in their current roles in client support sharing a full-time position. 

Finally we welcome Judy McKenzie to our staff (initially) for 2 days a week to assist in the client support area as we continue to grow our practice.  Judy will be trained as the key administrator in the Aged Care area of business amongst other general duties.

 

Personally speaking….

You may be aware that Bob (& wife Barbara) enjoyed a little more than a month’s break cruising around South America in April this year.  If you would like to see a selection of photos taken by Barb please click on the link to her Facebook page here.

Not to be outdone Casey and her family are off to Italy in September to holiday and for Casey to re-connect with family and friends who she lived with years ago as an exchange student, we look forward to those photos too!

In the meantime you can take you own photos of Bob (alias Bongonicko) as he performs with the Naturally Cool Big Band on 20 August at Sunbury Bowling Club at a fund-raising event for CIKA (see www.cika.org.au). Tickets are $30 each and the night includes entertainment, dancing and supper, drinks at bar prices.   Call Barbara on 5428 2228 to book a ticket or to make a donation.

   

Let’s hope we enjoy a happy financial year together!

 

Bob, Casey and the team at

                                    nixon financial services.

Things you should know: In preparing this material, no account was taken of the objectives, financial situation and needs of any particular person. Before making a decision on the basis of this material, you need to consider, with or without the assistance of a financial adviser, whether the material is appropriate in light of your individual needs and circumstances.