Portfolio & asset management advice

Investment in shares (stocks) can be a great way to build and protect your wealth. When managing a stock portfolio, we believe it’s important that you take a long-term approach. You can lose money quickly by making the wrong decisions or moving in and out of the market over short periods of time.

We believe a share portfolio should be constructed carefully. The foundations of your portfolio should be strong, in stable companies that grow steadily over the long term. It’s also important to get diversification and exposure across different sectors of the economy. Don’t just rely on one vertical; instead, look into banks, mining, technology, healthcare, or infrastructure as well.  

Taking a global perspective and looking outside of Australia can also be a wise move when building your portfolio. After all, Australia's share market makes up just 2% of the world equity market—there’s so much more out there.

Managing a portfolio for retirement all comes down to your individual goals and lifestyle.

The first thing to identify is how much money you want to spend each year. This figure should include your day-to-day expenses, and other things like holidays, gifts, and large purchases.

Once your annual income needs are identified, an investment portfolio can be constructed around this objective. By looking at the expected growth and income yields of various asset classes such as shares, fixed interest, cash, and property, your portfolio can then be built in a way that matches these needs throughout your retirement.  

Managing a retirement portfolio is about finding the right balance between growing your wealth, meeting your income needs, and protecting your wealth to ensure you don't run out of money in your lifetime. With the right advice, you may also be able to build capital to pass on to future generations.

Kickstarting an investment portfolio for your children can be a great way to give them financial assistance in life, and even get them interested in investing. There are a number of ways this can be done.

A share portfolio can be opened in your childrens’ name, with you as the adult trustee of the account. While this approach is simple, you need to be aware that interest and dividends earned in a child's name can be taxed as high as 66%—that’s a big hit.

Insurance bonds are another option when investing for your children. During the term of their investment, they don’t create any additional tax burden in your name or your child’s name. If you hold them for 10 years or more, there’s no tax payable when you convert back to cash, which you can then pass on to your children tax-free.

Another common approach is to buy a parcel of shares for your children within an SMSF. This allows the shares to grow in a tax-efficient environment. When you reach age 60, it’s then possible to sell or transfer the shares out of your SMSF, while paying $0 tax.