Tuesday September 1, 2009

Introduction

Welcome to the second edition of our revised Lakeside Newsletter. It has been a busy time of the year and it has been very good to catch up with many of our clients during this period. We would invite all of our clients to contact us for a review at anytime on 03 9510 0788.

The information in this newsletter is general advice only. It has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation and needs. Before acting on any advice you should consider the appropriateness of the advice, having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs. You should obtain a product disclosure statement relating to any product and consider the statements before making any decision whether to acquire these products.

Please note: Information and advice relating to loans, mortgages and legal matters is provided by staff of Lakeside Consultants independently of Guardianfp Ltd (‘Guardianfp’). Guardianfp is not responsible or liable for provision of these services as it is separate to any ‘financial product advice’ provided by Lakeside Consultants under authorisation by Guardianfp as that term ‘financial product advice’ is defined in the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).
 

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Economic Overview

The economic landscape has changed somewhat in the last number of months. We have seen the Australian share market rally to be 28% up since March. The banks have started to raise their fixed mortgage rates off the back of strong suggestions that the RBA will raise cash rates prior to the end of the year, the AU$ has strengthened and is forecast to continue to do so through 2010 and labour markets have defied expectations with the unemployment rate staying at 5.8% at the beginning of August.

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Your mortgage – fixed or variable

With speculation that the official cash rate may have already bottomed out, many economists are already predicting the next rate movement to be up. A number of the banks have already started to increase their fixed rates independent of any RBA decisions. This indicates that the banks are expecting to increase their interest rates in the short term. Now is the time to discuss your options with one of our Advisers about the best strategy for your personal circumstances.

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Kickstart!

One of the single most important factors in ensuring long term financial prosperity and security is to ensure you have the right advice network in place from the beginning. At Lakeside we have implemented the ‘Kickstart’ program to assist younger people at the start of their financial journey. We focus on the financial areas which are pertinent to younger people like budgeting, planning for your first home, helping to protect against any unforeseen circumstances and investments strategies appropriate to your personal circumstances. We have found many parents have funded this plan for their children to ensure they get off on the right foot and continue on the correct path.

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Boost your Super

Research by the Association of Super Funds Australia (ASFA) shows that most Australians aged between 55 and 64 have just $142,000 in their super fund. This may simply not be enough for many if you use the general rule of thumb that retirees should aim for an income of around two-thirds of their final salary. Talk to a Lakeside Adviser today about strategies that may allow you to boost your super, even in your 50’s.

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Increase your cash flow & protect the downside

As many of you are aware there are a number of reasons why insurance via superannuation is effective. These include tax deductible contributions and improving your cash flow. There have been a number of recent changes to these strategies and there are a number of new products in the market which provide further benefit with Income Protection and also TPD insurances. Please get in touch with one of our Advisers to see how these changes may benefit you.

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