Investopoly

The difference between a great and an average accountant can be significant. Not only is tax one of your biggest annual expenses, but a great accountant should be able to proactively identify other financial opportunities, in addition to tax-saving measures.Typically, the more complex your financial situation is (e.g. if you are self-employed, running a business, have a trust or SMSF, etc.), the more you have to gain from having the right accountant. That said, working with a great accountant is in everyone’s best interest.How do you know if your accountant is great or not?It’s difficult for clients to tell whether their accountant is proactively looking for, and has identified, all financial opportunities. The reality is, you don’t know, what you don’t know.To help you, I have listed below some common traits or behaviours that may indicate if your accountant is great or not!They take a long time to respond to your calls/emailsThis is a common complaint by many people. A lack of timely responses causes two problems.Firstly, it suggests that they have too much work, are under-staffed or have poor organisational skills. Neither of these things will allow them sufficient time and space to be able to provide you with proactive advice – because they will always be (reactively) rushing onto their next task.Secondly, it will discourage you from seeking their advice or keeping them updated about changes in your circumstances. However, if you know your accountant is fast to respond to emails, then you will be encouraged to run things past them. Doing so will give your accountant more scope to add value.They don’t ask questions – just follow last year’s workIt should come as no surprise that preparing the same tax return, year-after-year can be repetitive work. That said, its dangerous to fall into autopilot mode because if you make a mistake or miss an item one year, you will continue to repeat that mistake in subsequent years.To combat this risk, good accounting firms regularly rotate staff so that the same person is not preparing the same work many years in a row – and also have well defined review procedures.If your accountant rarely asks you questions or for additional information during the return preparation process, then it could be a sign that they are runniDo you have a question? Email: questions@investopoly.com.au or for a faster response, post a comment on the episode's video over on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@investopolypodcast/podcasts If you're interested in working with my team and me, discover how we can work together here: https://prosolution.com.au/prospective-client/If this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating on your favourite podcast platform. Subscribe to my weekly blog: https://www.prosolution.com.au/stay-connected/ Buy a one of Stuart's books for ONLY $20 including delivery. Use the discount code blog: https://prosolution.com.au/books/DOWNLOAD our 97-point financial health checklist here: https://prosolution.com.au/download-checklist/IMPORTANT: This podcast provides general information about finance, taxes, and credit. This means that the content does not consider your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is crucial for you to assess whether the information is suitable for your circumstances before taking any actions based on it. If you find yourself uncertain about the relevance or your specific needs, it is advisable to seek advice from a licensed and trustworthy professional.

This blog’s title is a bit deceptive, because every property you buy is important, for either lifestyle or financial reasons.I contemplated using the title: “why the first property you buy is the most important one”. But the reality is, if you have made a mistake on your first property, you can always start again.The general theme of this blog is to demonstrate that the compounding impact of buying the right property is critical to understand.Why is it so important?Let me explain using an example:Rick and Karen are buying their first home and are comparing two properties. Property A is considered to be investment grade and has great growth prospects i.e. 6% p.a. growth rate. Property B is a newer property but has inferior growth prospects and barely keeps up with inflation – growing at 1% p.a. Both properties cost $750,000. Rick and Karen need to borrow $700,000. After 5 years of principal and interest home loan repayments, the balance of Rick and Karen’s loan would have reduced from $700,000 to approximately $622,000. The value of Property A would be approximately $1 million, and Property B would be $790,000. If Rick and Karen purchased Property A, they would have $378,000 of equity. However, if they purchased Property B, would have less than half the equity i.e. $168,000. That is a substantial difference of $210,000!But it’s how this difference compounds that’s most importantIf in 5 years’ time, Rick and Karen were contemplating upgrading their property to buy a larger family home, the differential in equity will have a substantial impact on their budget.Assuming that they want to borrow a maximum of 80% of the new home’s value, a deposit of $378,000 will allow Rick and Karen to spend up to $1.45 million (allowing for 6% for costs including stamp duty).However, a $168,000 deposit will only allow Rick and Karen to spend $650,000, which is less than their current property value! If they buy for $1 million, they will have to borrow 90% of the value and pay for mortgage insurance (which will cost over $35,000!).Therefore, using this example, the difference between buying the right versus wrong property could be the difference between being able to take the next step (and buy a family home), or not.It should be noted that this equity gDo you have a question? Email: questions@investopoly.com.au or for a faster response, post a comment on the episode's video over on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@investopolypodcast/podcasts If you're interested in working with my team and me, discover how we can work together here: https://prosolution.com.au/prospective-client/If this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating on your favourite podcast platform. Subscribe to my weekly blog: https://www.prosolution.com.au/stay-connected/ Buy a one of Stuart's books for ONLY $20 including delivery. Use the discount code blog: https://prosolution.com.au/books/DOWNLOAD our 97-point financial health checklist here: https://prosolution.com.au/download-checklist/IMPORTANT: This podcast provides general information about finance, taxes, and credit. This means that the content does not consider your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is crucial for you to assess whether the information is suitable for your circumstances before taking any actions based on it. If you find yourself uncertain about the relevance or your specific needs, it is advisable to seek advice from a licensed and trustworthy professional.

My professional life has been all about “the numbers” for more than two decades! So, as an accountant and financial advisor, it pains me to say that numbers are not always right!Numbers are factual, verifiable, logical and the ‘robustness’ gives me a lot of confidence. However, when it comes to investing in property, a focus on numbers alone can cause very costly mistakes.Evidenced-based approaches are rooted in simple mathI am a strong believer in only employing evidenced-based investment methodologies. That is, only invest when there is overwhelming evidence that the methodology will generate the investment returns you desire. If there is no evidence, then it is too risky. You may as well throw darts at a dartboard.Of course, normally we look to math to verify the evidence. Therefore, I appreciate that me stating that numbers can’t always be trusted may be somewhat contradictory.Why can the numbers be wrong?It is very important to understand what has driven the data, because not all data is reliable or meaningful.Suburb median data is a good example of this point. Sometimes I see advisors or journalists reporting median house price growth in a given suburb, often to support an investment case. But it’s important to understand the data before drawing any conclusions.Was the volume (number) of sales statistically significant? Were the properties that sold during the period representative of the property type you are considering investing in? Were the results driven by a once-off change such as the release of more land, major developments or the gentrification of the suburb?Just because a suburb has generated price growth of 9% p.a. over the past 5 or 10 years, doesn’t necessarily suggest its future growth will be in line with this.Property specific dataProperty specific historical data can also sometimes be unreliable.It is important to ascertain whether past sales were representative of the true market value of the subject property. Situations such as sales between related parties, transactions in very buoyant markets (i.e. if purchaser overpaid), if any capital improvements were made to the property during the period and so on. These can all affect the implied capital growth rate.Not every sale perfectly reflects a property’s intrinsic value, so care must be takeDo you have a question? Email: questions@investopoly.com.au or for a faster response, post a comment on the episode's video over on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@investopolypodcast/podcasts If you're interested in working with my team and me, discover how we can work together here: https://prosolution.com.au/prospective-client/If this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating on your favourite podcast platform. Subscribe to my weekly blog: https://www.prosolution.com.au/stay-connected/ Buy a one of Stuart's books for ONLY $20 including delivery. Use the discount code blog: https://prosolution.com.au/books/DOWNLOAD our 97-point financial health checklist here: https://prosolution.com.au/download-checklist/IMPORTANT: This podcast provides general information about finance, taxes, and credit. This means that the content does not consider your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is crucial for you to assess whether the information is suitable for your circumstances before taking any actions based on it. If you find yourself uncertain about the relevance or your specific needs, it is advisable to seek advice from a licensed and trustworthy professional.

Slides - Click here Watch the video - click here Do you have a question? Email: questions@investopoly.com.au or for a faster response, post a comment on the episode's video over on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@investopolypodcast/podcasts If you're interested in working with my team and me, discover how we can work together here: https://prosolution.com.au/prospective-client/If this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating on your favourite podcast platform. Subscribe to my weekly blog: https://www.prosolution.com.au/stay-connected/ Buy a one of Stuart's books for ONLY $20 including delivery. Use the discount code blog: https://prosolution.com.au/books/DOWNLOAD our 97-point financial health checklist here: https://prosolution.com.au/download-checklist/IMPORTANT: This podcast provides general information about finance, taxes, and credit. This means that the content does not consider your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is crucial for you to assess whether the information is suitable for your circumstances before taking any actions based on it. If you find yourself uncertain about the relevance or your specific needs, it is advisable to seek advice from a licensed and trustworthy professional.

According to the ABS, the number of people refinancing their mortgage increased by over 63% in the year to May 2020. Quite often people think the only reason to refinance is to obtain a lower interest rate. However, this thinking is incorrect. Typically, you don’t need to refinance to obtain a lower interest rate (more about this below). As an experienced investor myself, I can tell you that there are far more important reasons to refinance your loans.What is a refinance?This might sound like a basic question. However, there are two types of refinances; internal and external. A refinance essentially involves entering into a new loan agreement. You can do that with your existing lender/bank, and this is called an internal refinance. Alternatively, you can switch to a new lender and this is called an external refinance. This distinction is important for my discussion below.The first two reasons are the most importantOver the past 20 years, the primary motives for refinancing my personal mortgages were because of the first two reasons below. I’ll share why later in this blog.Reason # 1: restructure your loansYour loan structure can have a big impact on your cash flow and ability to invest. Restructuring your loan repayments, how loans are secured, loan terms and so on can provide substantial financial benefits. Here are a few examples:Resetting your interest only termAs I explained in a blog last year, interest only terms typically run for 5 years only. Once that initial 5-year term expires, most (but not all) lenders allow borrowers to rollover onto an additional 5-year term. However, once you have used two 5-year terms, the only way to get another is to complete an external refinance, and switch to a new lender.Resetting your loan term to 30 yearsAlmost all loan contracts are based on a 30-year loan term. If you elect to repay interest only, then your 30-year term will be split into two parts; one 5-year interest only term and the remaining 25-years on principal and interest (P&I) repayments. Therefore, if you use two 5-year interest terms (a second interest only term iDo you have a question? Email: questions@investopoly.com.au or for a faster response, post a comment on the episode's video over on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@investopolypodcast/podcasts If you're interested in working with my team and me, discover how we can work together here: https://prosolution.com.au/prospective-client/If this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating on your favourite podcast platform. Subscribe to my weekly blog: https://www.prosolution.com.au/stay-connected/ Buy a one of Stuart's books for ONLY $20 including delivery. Use the discount code blog: https://prosolution.com.au/books/DOWNLOAD our 97-point financial health checklist here: https://prosolution.com.au/download-checklist/IMPORTANT: This podcast provides general information about finance, taxes, and credit. This means that the content does not consider your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is crucial for you to assess whether the information is suitable for your circumstances before taking any actions based on it. If you find yourself uncertain about the relevance or your specific needs, it is advisable to seek advice from a licensed and trustworthy professional.

There are three ways to generate passive income; start a business, invest or speculate. The key word in that sentence is passive. Passive means you can generate economic benefits without the requirement of your personal exertion. Since it doesn’t require personal exertion, it frees up your time to spend it on activities or with the people you love.Each of these three options have merit. But the important thing to note is that not all three will suit everyone. This point is very important to appreciate, and could save you a lot of time, stress and money!A quick bit of theory firstLegendary author and prolific researcher, Jim Collins formulated a concept called the “Hedgehog Concept”. The Hedgehog Concept was based on the famous essay by Isaiah Berlin in which he refers to an ancient Greek story: “The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.”It was Collins’ thesis that successful companies are laser-focused on the Hedgehog Concept, which is the intersection of 3 important considerations or questions (i.e. the orange portion in the illustration below):1. what you are deeply passionate about,2. what you can be the best in the world at, and3. what best drives your economic or resource engine.Successful companies focus on delivering products or services that they can be the best at and ignore all other opportunities.(By the way, Jim Collins’ book, Good to Great is one of the best business books I have read.)Let me share a quick story about meBefore I relate this theory to personal investment, let me share a story with you.I have some friends that are successful property developers and make substantial six-figure profits. In the past, I have considered whether I should get involved in property development too, especially since I have the property, finance and taxation knowledge. However, many years ago, I decided to focus on my Hedgehog. Property development just isn’t for me.Property developing takes a lot of time. So, I could either spend my time on developing property with the aim of generating a once-off profit. Alternatively, I could spend that time thinking about andDo you have a question? Email: questions@investopoly.com.au or for a faster response, post a comment on the episode's video over on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@investopolypodcast/podcasts If you're interested in working with my team and me, discover how we can work together here: https://prosolution.com.au/prospective-client/If this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating on your favourite podcast platform. Subscribe to my weekly blog: https://www.prosolution.com.au/stay-connected/ Buy a one of Stuart's books for ONLY $20 including delivery. Use the discount code blog: https://prosolution.com.au/books/DOWNLOAD our 97-point financial health checklist here: https://prosolution.com.au/download-checklist/IMPORTANT: This podcast provides general information about finance, taxes, and credit. This means that the content does not consider your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is crucial for you to assess whether the information is suitable for your circumstances before taking any actions based on it. If you find yourself uncertain about the relevance or your specific needs, it is advisable to seek advice from a licensed and trustworthy professional.

Despite the share market volatility as a result of Covid-19, all major industry super funds produced a positive investment return over the past financial year. Whilst that might seem entirely good news, there are some concerns for which industry super fund members should be aware of.Let’s start with the good news firstI have compared the largest 8 Australian industry super funds. According to data collated by our research provider, Lonsec (SuperRatings), Cbus produced the best returns in the 2019/20 financial year. However, AustralianSuper produced the best long term (10 years) return, although there not a big difference between the top 3 funds (Hostplus, UniSuper and AustralianSuper). I have compared the investment options with similar levels of growth assets – but more on this below.See table on blog (website)Of course, longer term returns are what is most important. It is not always possible or even desirable to produce the best returns each and every year. Sometimes a fund has to take too much risk to do so.Investment returns are important for marketingThere is no better marketing than achieving the highest investment return as it attracts a lot of new superannuation members.I was very interested to read this article in the Australian Financial Review about Hostplus’ balanced option. For the financial year up until May 2020, it had lost 3.5%. However, as timing would have it, on 29 June 2020, the Fund decided to revalue its unlisted property 6.8% higher. This resulted in halving its its Balance options loss to -1.74% for the financial year. How convenient. I discuss my concerns with respect to transparency and accountability below.There are a number of ways a super fund can window-dress its returns including revaluing unlisted assets and changing the asset allocation i.e. being more or less aggressive than the desired allocation of the investment option.Fees vary substantially between fundsIf your super balance is relatively low, fees (and contributions) matter more than investment returns. However, as your balance grows (and certainly if your balance is above $250,000), investment returns become the most important factor.Out of the selected funds, First State Super (FSS)Do you have a question? Email: questions@investopoly.com.au or for a faster response, post a comment on the episode's video over on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@investopolypodcast/podcasts If you're interested in working with my team and me, discover how we can work together here: https://prosolution.com.au/prospective-client/If this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating on your favourite podcast platform. Subscribe to my weekly blog: https://www.prosolution.com.au/stay-connected/ Buy a one of Stuart's books for ONLY $20 including delivery. Use the discount code blog: https://prosolution.com.au/books/DOWNLOAD our 97-point financial health checklist here: https://prosolution.com.au/download-checklist/IMPORTANT: This podcast provides general information about finance, taxes, and credit. This means that the content does not consider your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is crucial for you to assess whether the information is suitable for your circumstances before taking any actions based on it. If you find yourself uncertain about the relevance or your specific needs, it is advisable to seek advice from a licensed and trustworthy professional.

You may have read commentary that the share market isn’t reflecting reality at the moment. For example, the share market can rise by 3% on the same day that we receive bad news in respect to the spread of the virus. Spectators are left thinking how can market values rise when global economic expectations are so negative? That is a fair question.Then there’s stocks like Tesla in the US and Afterpay in Australia.Electronic car manufacture, Tesla's share price has risen by 50% over the past couple of weeks. Its market value is now equal to the total value of Australia’s big 4 banks plus BHP combined. The difference is that the banks and BHP make total profit of $12 billion p.a. whereas Tesla loses money (and has never made money)!These exuberant valuations are happening here too. Towards the end of March, Australian listed FinTech company Afterpay was trading just above $8 per share. Today, it is trading at circa $70 per share and is worth over $20 billion. It also doesn’t make a profit.So, how do you navigate a market that doesn’t make a lot of sense?The Robinhood effectOne of the contributors to this irrational exuberance is the influx of amateur investors – often first-time investors. Back in May, Australian regulator ASIC noted there had been a 340% increase in the opening of new share trading accounts. The US has also reported a record number of new account openings this year.The theory is that people are becoming bored being locked in their homes. Sports betting and casinos are closed. So, people have turned their attention to “gambling” on the share market.FinTec companies, particularly in the US have jumped onto this trend. US provider, Robinhood is best known for gamifying share trading. It offers free stock to anyone that opens a new account – and additional free stock if you refer friends. The screen turns green if your trade is in profit (and red if its not), sends you confetti when you buy and gives you your money straight away after you sell, so you can trade again (it takes 3 days in Australia). Many brokerages in the US now don’t charge commisDo you have a question? Email: questions@investopoly.com.au or for a faster response, post a comment on the episode's video over on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@investopolypodcast/podcasts If you're interested in working with my team and me, discover how we can work together here: https://prosolution.com.au/prospective-client/If this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating on your favourite podcast platform. Subscribe to my weekly blog: https://www.prosolution.com.au/stay-connected/ Buy a one of Stuart's books for ONLY $20 including delivery. Use the discount code blog: https://prosolution.com.au/books/DOWNLOAD our 97-point financial health checklist here: https://prosolution.com.au/download-checklist/IMPORTANT: This podcast provides general information about finance, taxes, and credit. This means that the content does not consider your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is crucial for you to assess whether the information is suitable for your circumstances before taking any actions based on it. If you find yourself uncertain about the relevance or your specific needs, it is advisable to seek advice from a licensed and trustworthy professional.

Melbourne’s Covid transmission outbreak has been widely publicised by the media. Melbourne’s daily positive test rate is relatively benign by world standards (i.e. 0.5-0.6% versus 7.5% in the USA). However, the reinstated 6-week lockdown of Melbourne is likely to have a negative impact on Australia’s economy. Melbourne is responsible for producing over 19% of Australia’s GDP.Spending has bounced back strongly with Victoria laggingFirstly, let’s start with the good news. The good news is that according to ANZ Economics, spending has bounced back relatively strongly (see charts below - click to enlarge).Spending overall is up 5.5% year-on-year to 3 July 2020. Households are spending more on goods and groceries but substantially less on travel and entertainment.Spending in Victoria is lagging compared to other States, due to the stricter lockdown rules.Victoria’s lockdowns will give rise to higher unemployment and a prolonged recessionUp until a few weeks ago, I was firmly in the V-shape camp. That is, I expected the Australian economy would recover sharply after lockdown restrictions were lifted. I based this view on the assumption that there would be more targeted government stimulus post September. To date, economic data (similar to the spending data above) has been supportive of this view.However, given Melbourne accounts for over 19% of Australia’s total GDP, Melbourne’s reinstated lockdown is likely to weigh heavily on the nation’s economic recovery.It is my view that a second lockdown will substantially harm consumer and business confidence. A few weeks ago, restaurants and entertainment venues were contemplating reopening. Now they won’t be able to do that for at least another 6 weeks. There are not many (otherwise) viable businesses that could survive a 5-month closure. As a result, I fear that more businesses will not survive this period and as such, unemployment will rise and take much longer to recover.Based on data from March & April, the following categories of expenditure will likely suffer the most: dining and takeaway, accommodation, entertainment and travel.Impact of immigration, education and population growthBorder closures will have a negative impact on population growth due to reduced levels of overseas and interstate migration. And population growth dDo you have a question? Email: questions@investopoly.com.au or for a faster response, post a comment on the episode's video over on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@investopolypodcast/podcasts If you're interested in working with my team and me, discover how we can work together here: https://prosolution.com.au/prospective-client/If this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating on your favourite podcast platform. Subscribe to my weekly blog: https://www.prosolution.com.au/stay-connected/ Buy a one of Stuart's books for ONLY $20 including delivery. Use the discount code blog: https://prosolution.com.au/books/DOWNLOAD our 97-point financial health checklist here: https://prosolution.com.au/download-checklist/IMPORTANT: This podcast provides general information about finance, taxes, and credit. This means that the content does not consider your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is crucial for you to assess whether the information is suitable for your circumstances before taking any actions based on it. If you find yourself uncertain about the relevance or your specific needs, it is advisable to seek advice from a licensed and trustworthy professional.

The price you pay for an investment property will only matter if you purchase the wrong asset. An investment grade asset will, in the long run, mask any purchase price errors that you may have made. That is why focusing on the quality of the asset is easily the most important thing you must do when investing in property. Simple math proves timing the market or buying below fair value is relatively meaningless.Purchasing above or below intrinsic valueLet’s face it. We all want to get the best deal we can, and no one wants to pay any more for a property than they have to. It is my guess that the desire to buy well is driven mainly by two things; ego and misinformation.Most people feel stupid if they subsequently realise that they overpaid for an asset - and none of us like feeling stupid.The misinformation problem is that most people think the price they pay for an asset will have an impact on its performance. But that is not true for investment grade assets.Show me the numbersAnyone that has followed my blogs for any length of time knows that I love to dive into the numbers. This topic is no different. My findings are summarised in the table below.I compared the after-tax compounding returns resulting from investing in a $750,000 property, holding it for 20 years and then selling. I assumed that you borrowed the full cost of this acquisition (including stamp duty). The only cash you had to contribute to the investment is the holding costs i.e. the difference between the loan repayments and net rental income. I then calculated the internal rate of return - which essentially is your annual compounding investment return after tax.I then varied two assumptions:§ Whether the price you paid for the asset was above or below intrinsic value; and§ The average capital growth rate over the 20-year holding period.The reason the investment returns ranges (far right column) might seem high, particularly for higher growth scenarios, is because of the impact of gearing i.e. you achieve relatively large returns for minimal cash contributed towards the investment.What did I find?If you purchase a property that has very low growth prospects e.g. 3% p.a. over 20 years, the price you pay for that asset will have a big impact on your investment return. For eDo you have a question? Email: questions@investopoly.com.au or for a faster response, post a comment on the episode's video over on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@investopolypodcast/podcasts If you're interested in working with my team and me, discover how we can work together here: https://prosolution.com.au/prospective-client/If this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating on your favourite podcast platform. Subscribe to my weekly blog: https://www.prosolution.com.au/stay-connected/ Buy a one of Stuart's books for ONLY $20 including delivery. Use the discount code blog: https://prosolution.com.au/books/DOWNLOAD our 97-point financial health checklist here: https://prosolution.com.au/download-checklist/IMPORTANT: This podcast provides general information about finance, taxes, and credit. This means that the content does not consider your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is crucial for you to assess whether the information is suitable for your circumstances before taking any actions based on it. If you find yourself uncertain about the relevance or your specific needs, it is advisable to seek advice from a licensed and trustworthy professional.