Often we receive questions from investors surrounding how tax might impact their investments, and in particular, which investments they choose. While tax is an important consideration, outlined in many of our previous blogs, it’s not the only thing to consider to make when looking at which funds (and therefore provider) to choose. “But, all the Reddit threads I read says it is!” You might be thinking… Let us explain. Consider more than tax when choosing your investments There’s no denying that tax efficiency is an important part of financial planning. But choosing an investment product based o ..read more

Every parent wants what is best for their child and this usually includes a future that is financially secure. In an age of eye-watering house prices and accelerating inflation, there has never been a more important time to start planning and investing for your children’s financial future. How do you decide what to invest in? With any investment strategy it’s important to define what you are trying to achieve i.e., your goal. Is it to help your child get onto the property ladder? Save for their education? Or simply to cover potential unexpected costs of parenting? Defining the goal will help y ..read more

Chances are at some stage in your life, you’ve thought about being better or doing more with your money. Perhaps the following thought was something along the lines of “now where the heck do I start?”. Great question. You have a few options… But generally speaking, the most direct and useful pathway is to seek some financial advice. Here are the in’s and out’s of financial advice: when you might need it and most importantly, where you might get it. What is financial advice? A pretty broad term is what it is! We’ve found that financial advice has historically been hard to define in the eyes of ..read more

Living a relaxed lifestyle at Whangarei Heads, thirty-something investors Chris and Rosemary had never given much thought to investing. That was, until lockdown. With newfound time on their hands, they began to reassess their lives, how their money was working for them and start planning for their financial future!   They were off to a good start with an established savings habit Although neither earned an excessive amount leaving school, Chris, a student teacher and Rosemary, a medical technical assistan ..read more

Investing without a strategy is like a sports team going into a game without a game plan. Even though you don’t necessarily need one, defining an appropriate investment strategy before starting to invest will increase your chance of meeting both short-term and long-term future financial goals. However, before beginning to research your investment strategy, you should take a comprehensive look at your current financial situation, investment goals, time horizon and your comfort zone in taking on risk. A quick look at your investing objectives Wondering where to start? Try asking yourself these k ..read more

Have you ever thought about changing things up in your investment portfolio? Wondered if you should be taking more or less risk based on your age, stage or life events? If yes, you’re not alone. Most investors like to take stock of their portfolio from time to time and make changes where needed. This is common amongst both DIY investors as well as large financial institutions and in the world of investing is known as portfolio rebalancing. In this blog, we aim to break down what portfolio rebalancing is, what the costs and benefits of doing so are and why you would do it in the first place. Wh ..read more

Whether they’re financial goals or not, it’s likely that you’ve set yourself a few New Year’s resolutions already or plan to in the coming weeks. “New year, new me”, you’ll think. Then perhaps the question of “but how will I stick to these ones?” might cross your mind shortly after. So you don’t get stuck before you start, we have a few great tips to get you following through with your financial goals in 2022. Starting with understanding why you’re setting those goals in the first place. Look back before you look forward Now, before you make grand plans of how to put your resolutions in motion ..read more

Since 2018, increasing demand for sustainable investing has seen ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) funds grow 10-fold. Investors are not only interested in the financial outcome of an investment decision, but also the impact it has in shaping the world. ESG funds encompass these forms of non-financial metrics when considering an investment decision. There are three driving ‘forces’ that play a role behind the acceleration towards sustainable investments: 1. Investor demand Today consumers are ‘voting with their dollar’, demanding more sustainable products with a willingness to pay a pre ..read more

We’ve all heard the disclaimer “past performance is no indicator of future returns” thrown around or reinforced by financial providers (ourselves included!). But what does this statement actually mean? And why is it that it stands true? Let us explain. Research has shown that a strong skill of humans is the ability to detect patterns, even in randomness. It allows us to predict and expect what might come next and to complete a picture in our heads. And when these patterns are found, we tend to believe in them. Though this genetically hard-wired behaviour is an essential part of how we learn an ..read more

For those that have crossed into the world of parenthood, you know that life instantly and significantly changes forever. These changes are wonderful yet challenging at the same time. Financially, even for the most frugal and money savvy, there are many additions to the budget when we have kids. We need to spend more on food, childcare/education, clothing and toys, not to mention the nappy budget! We might also want a larger emergency fund or consider buying life insurance to provide for our children in case something bad happens to us. At the same time, we are torn and start thinking about th ..read more