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WELCOME
Hi,
It’s our pleasure to welcome you to our Spring newsletter, in which we have included a selection of articles that we hope you find both interesting and enjoyable to read.
This winter proved to be rather chilly for investors. The bears were out of their cage and clawing at shares and super funds. Spiralling oil prices and soaring home rental rates contributed to rising inflation figures. And thanks to America’s woes, our dollar almost reached parity with the US$. In this issue we’ll be taking a closer look at the rise and fall of our Aussie dollar and examining transition to retirement strategies that could make the decade between ages 55 – 65 especially lucrative for investors. We also offer some thoughts on achieving a better work life balance – important for your health as well as family and social relationships.
Kind regards
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Latest news
We have just passed the first anniversary of the US Sub Prime credit crisis, but the fallout is still hurting us. We’ve seen two of Australia’s big four banks humbled by debt and liquidity problems in the past quarter and the big chill continues for investors in shares and super funds too – the latter recording their worst results in a decade.
Even Australia’s blue chip companies are feeling the pinch and many are lowering their profit forecasts.
Read More 
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Passing the buck
The Aussie dollar has had more ups and downs than a TV soap opera since it replaced the pound in 1966. Way back then, it was pegged to British sterling, but a year later, the AU$ abandoned the pound and was linked to the US$ at an official rate of AU$1.00 = US$1.12. Our dollar has been on a real roller coaster ride since 1968, but never once matched or exceeded the value of the US$. In 2001, it hit its lowest ever value of only 49 US cents.
Read More
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Transition to retirement
Your 55th birthday may be the earliest date you can officially retire and access your super, but these days most of us would consider 55 way too young to stop working altogether. The main reason for this is that we are now living longer and expect more out of life – we feel too young to retire.
The cost of living isn’t getting any lower either, a thought that persuades many of us to keep working a little longer to sock away a bigger nest egg before we take to the road as grey nomads or embark on whatever adventure we have planned when we stop working.
Read More
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Enjoying life?
“Methusaleh lived nine hundred years... But who calls that livin’ when no gal will give in to a man what’s nine hundred years old” - George & Ira Gershwin “It Ain’t Necessarily So”
A report called Australia’s Health 2008 tells us that we are now the second longest living people on earth at 80.4 years, bettered only by Japan.1 But what is the point of living longer if you are not getting more out of life?
Read More
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Authorised Representatives of First Capital Financial Planning Pty Ltd.
ABN 35003212717;
AFS 281193. Registered Office: 8/15 Castlereagh Street, Sydney NSW 2000.
Postal Address: GPO Box 5133, Sydney NSW 2001.
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Are you serious...
A teenager approaches his father saying “Dad, you gave me terrible financial advice! You said to put my money in that big bank, and now that bank is in trouble.”
“That’s one of the largest banks in Australia - there must be some mistake,” he answered.
“No - they just returned one of my cheques with a note saying, ‘Insufficient Funds’."
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General Advice Warning: This advice may not be suitable to you because it contains general advice that has not been tailored to your personal circumstances. Please seek personal financial advice prior to acting on this information.
Investment Performance: Past performance is not a reliable guide to future returns as future returns may differ from and be more or less volatile than past returns.
Disclaimer: We do not accept liability in connection with computer virus, data corruption, delay, interruption, unauthorised access or unauthorised amendment. This notice should not be removed.
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