In this video, the Magellan GLOBAL Listed Infrastructure team lead byGerald Stack, Magellan’s Head of Investments & Infrastructure share their insights on the current state of the global listed infrastructure sector, including the recent performance, outlook, and future opportunities for investors as we move into 2021.
Viewing time: 60 mins.
Source: https://www.magellangroup.com.au/insights/
As a new and very different president-elect prepares to enter the White House, and as vaccine hopefuls emerge to suppress the devastating impact of COVID-19, what are the biggest risks and opportunities for investors in 2021 and beyond?
In this podcast, Magellan’s Chairman and Chief Investment Officer Hamish Douglass offers his detailed perspectives on the impact of a new Biden presidency, and discusses the economic response to recent COVID vaccine developments as the world re-emerges post-pandemic.
Podcast time: 49 minutes
If you are unsure and would like an evaluation of your situation, please email us on ds@bluerocke.com with your contacts, for an exploratory meeting, at our cost, not yours.
Source: https://magellan.podbean.com/e/votes-vaccines-and-a-re-emerging-world-for-investors/
Dear All
In response to the COVID-19 advice and restrictions announced by the State Government, we will be working remotely for most part.
Due to the high level of agility with our technologies, we will remain fully operational.
Most of our meetings and events will now occur via telephone or via GoogleMeet, with only business-critical meetings taking place in our office.
If you are due to attend in our office but feel unwell, please advise us asap, so that we can instead meet with you via telephone or video conferencing.
Please email ds@bluerocke.com for any questions, support or enquiries.
Stay safe and well.
From all of us at BlueRocke.
A smart saving strategy is just one element of achieving financial security – you also need a deliberate plan to manage and make the most of what you have.
Here, 10 money-savvy women share one tip that’s helped them get their finances into a healthier state.
Millionaires know that diversification is the key to building wealth – they typically have multiple income streams. If you’re serious about securing your financial future, it makes sense to follow their lead. There are plenty of options – think property, shares, bonds, superannuation, your own business or a ‘side hustle’. Treat your finances as a portfolio and start to spread the opportunities and the risk, even if it’s on a small scale, and you’ll be on your way.
Emma Isaacs, Founder and Global CEO, Business Chicks
I was never bothered about budgeting until I fell pregnant and wanted to take a year off with my baby. Cutting back on expenses was a shock to the system but only because I wasn’t used to it. Develop smarter spending habits – comparing prices, finding cheaper alternatives, setting budgets for activities and outings and so on – and it soon becomes possible to live on a lower income without feeling like you’re missing out. Continuing to do those things, even after I returned to work, has made a big difference to our financial position.
Jade Cerfontyne, Project Manager
I spent my twenties and thirties with my head in the sand when it came to money. That finally changed when I was in my early forties and my accountant sent me to see a financial planner. If you’re not comfortable managing money and you don’t know where to get started, professional advice can be so valuable. Work with them to create a plan and start following it. Doing this has helped me to see where I’m heading financially for the first time in my life, and that’s very empowering.
Dale Pope, Founder, Dance by Dale Pope
It’s easy to tell yourself you’ll get your affairs in order when you have a moment. In my experience, that moment can be a long time coming. Make a date with yourself to do it – and keep it! Mine is an annual ‘money in March’ session where I evaluate my position, review my spending and budget, and set goals for the year ahead and plan how I’ll achieve them. It can take as little as a couple of hours to get on top of things. If you want to ensure your money is working as hard as it can for you, then it’s time you can’t afford not to spend.
Helen Murdoch, MLC General Manager, Workplace Super
During the course of a long marriage, I allowed my former husband to manage all the money matters. That meant I had an extremely steep learning curve when the relationship broke down and I had to take responsibility for myself and my four sons. Maintaining ownership of your finances through your life is the smartest thing you can do, regardless of whether you’re single or in a relationship. Your financial future is too important to leave in someone else’s hands.
Anthea Woodhill, Flight Attendant
In today’s world, there’s a lot of pressure to buy everything new and it’s killing our finances. Most fashion purchases are only worn a handful of times and many women discard clothes after a single wear, or even unworn. The best solution to wasteful impulse purchasing is to write down the thing you think you want and wait – for 24 hours, or two days, or longer. Whatever works for you. I call it PauseB4UPurchase. If you practise it regularly, you’ll be left with a lot more in your wallet for the things you really want and need.
Rachel Smith, Author of Underspent: how I broke my shopping addiction and buying habit without dramatically changing my life
There are lots of ways to build wealth but, in the long-term, the security of your own home is hard to beat. Striving to get a foothold in the property market, however modest, while you’re young is something you’ll really thank yourself for a couple of decades down the track. My friends were shocked when I bought a house at 21, but I am where I am today because I took that first step.
Joanne Ke, Self-funded retiree
It’s difficult to manage your money effectively if you don’t understand the way things work. Getting to grips with the financial products you use – your mortgage, personal loans, credit cards and superannuation – will help you make better decisions. Get good information that explains it in a straightforward way and you’ll find it’s not as complex as you expect. If you don’t take control, you may end up losing some of your own money – I don’t think any of us want that!
Jenny Rolfe-Wallace, Financial Educator and Founder of Sprout Education Group
Working for many years for a company that made additional contributions on my behalf helped me to accumulate a healthy super balance. It’s made a big difference to the lifestyle I can enjoy in retirement. That’s what super is really all about – freedom and choices – and that’s why keeping it front of mind from the start of your working life is so important. Sixty comes around very quickly and if you don’t make building your balance a priority, it may not happen.
Melanie Schwarzman, Self-funded retiree
Starting my own business was a calculated risk, and maintaining tight control of my finances has helped me to make it a success financially. I look at my bank account every day and allocate all the money I earn to different accounts, for different purposes. Know exactly where you stand with your finances at all times and there’ll be no nasty surprises. That’s a really good feeling!
Georgia Norton Lodge, Founder, Georgia Draws a House
If you are unsure and would like an evaluation of your situation, please email us on info@bluerocke.com or ds@bluerocke.com with your contacts, for an exploratory meeting, at our cost, not yours.
Source – https://www.mlc.com.au/personal/blog/2020/10/10_australian_women
Many women reach mid-life with a significant superannuation shortfall. But it’s not too late to turn things around. Actions now may help set up a more secure retirement.
When was the last time you checked your super balance? The hard fact is that Australian women accumulate, on average, far less super than men over their working lives and retire with smaller balances.
Men aged 55 to 64 had an average balance of $270,710 in 2017-18, while women of the same age averaged $157,050, according to statistics published by the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) in 2019.1 That’s a difference of 58 per cent and shows that women are far less financially prepared as they approach retirement.
Shockingly, one in three women across all age groups have no super at all. Reasons for this include self-employment, working casually or part-time in jobs where the hours worked aren’t enough to qualify for employer contributions, or having never been in paid employment.
Beyond having no super at all, there are several reasons why women find themselves well behind men in the balance stakes by the time they reach their forties and fifties. Typically, they’ve taken time out of the workforce to have children, and then chosen to only return part-time while raising them. Women are also more likely than men to become unpaid carers for ageing parents and relatives. During these busy ‘sandwich generation’ years, personal financial planning can take a back seat to more immediate family needs.
And then there’s the gender pay gap – the difference between male and female average earnings. It currently sits at 14 per cent in Australia, according to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency.2
Because of these factors, many women head towards retirement without enough savings to support even a modest lifestyle – particularly if, for whatever reason, their spouse or partner’s super is taken out of the equation.
Life doesn’t always go according to plan. Unexpected events like illness, job loss and relationship breakdown may cause significant financial challenges down the track if you don’t take steps now to secure your future. On top of working towards an adequate super balance, this is where having a plan B to provide support – for example, ensuring you are appropriately insured – is important. As is being actively involved in the financial planning decisions in any relationship.
For many Australian women, it is a lesson that comes too late. The number of homeless women aged over 55 has spiked in recent years – up 30 per cent between 2011 and 2016, according to the Australian Human Rights Commission.3 Risk factors for homelessness in later life, according to the Commission, include experiencing economic disadvantage or family or domestic violence, lack of family support, mental health issues, relationship breakdown and the death of a partner.
Many women in these situations have little or no super or savings and live precariously, struggling to cover bills and basic expenses via Centrelink payments and, once eligible, the Age Pension.
It’s a sobering prospect – but it doesn’t have to be that way. If you’re in the workforce, either full-time, part-time or casually, you can turn things around. Boosting your super savings in the second half of your working life can make a big difference to your final balance and the lifestyle you’ll be able to enjoy when you stop working.
Reviewing your outgoings and assets – including how much is in your super account – will help you understand your position and create a plan to get back on track, says MLC General Manager, Workplace Super, Helen Murdoch.
“Facing into this is so important,” she adds.
“If you’re 50 now, you have another 17 years before you may potentially be eligible for the Age Pension. But it’s not too late to make a big difference during that time. There’s so much you can do.”
Here’s a few things to get started:
It’s not uncommon for women in their forties and fifties to enjoy a second wind in their careers, as their children achieve independence and start to make fewer demands on their time and the family budget.
If this is you, you may find it’s an ideal time to start making additional voluntary contributions to your super. You can do this in a number of ways. For example, you can ask your employer to make a regular deduction from your salary, or you could make personal contributions from your take-home pay.
Topping up your balance won’t just build your retirement nest egg, either; it could help you to manage tax.
Contributions you make with pre-tax dollars, such as salary sacrifice contributions, are taxed at a maximum of 15 per cent for most people up to the contribution caps.4 (High income earners may have to pay an additional 15 per cent tax on these contributions). You may also be able to claim a tax deduction for personal contributions you make to super. Depending on your income level, this can be a smart way to help manage your tax and maximise the amount you’re saving for retirement.
Catching up on your super can seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. There’s still time to tackle the issue, and doing so will help provide you with a more comfortable retirement when the time is right for you. And, if you haven’t contributed up to the limit in a previous year, you may be able to make larger contributions now or in the future to give your retirement savings an extra boost.
“It’s okay to feel worried and intimidated, but you can’t let that stop you from stepping up to secure a better future,” Murdoch says.
“Often, women are so used to looking after everybody else, they neglect themselves. But now it’s time to look after yourself and plan for a great future for you.”
We are here to help. Contact Dev Sarker at ds@bluerocke.com today!
Source – https://www.mlc.com.au/personal/blog/2020/10/the_crucial_super_moves
1 Better Retirement Outcomes: a snapshot of account balances in Australia, Ross Clare, June 2019, https://www.superannuation.asn.au/
2 https://www.wgea.gov.au/data/fact-sheets/australias-gender-pay-gap-statistics
3 https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/age-discrimination/publications/older-womens-risk-homelessness-background-paper-2019
4 https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/super/growing-your-super/adding-to-your-super/salary-sacrificing-super/