When and How to Use a Financial Adviser Money is something that enables us to enjoy life and it follows that the better you take care of your money, the more enjoyment is likely to follow. Despite this, only a small minority of people seek professional financial advice. There are many success stories of people receiving life-changing advice, however the confidential nature of the advice process means that these stories ar...

KiwiSaver Options for Retirees Confusion still reigns for KiwiSaver members reaching the age of 65 as to what to do with their KiwiSaver funds and whether to keep contributing. If you are over 65 and have been a member of KiwiSaver for at least five years, you have several options available. If you are still working, you can remain a member of KiwiSaver and keep contributing if you wish to, although you will no longer re...

Fighting Over the Family Fortune Sibling rivalry is common, but add to the mix the death of parents and a sizeable estate and you have a recipe for the destruction of family relationships. The baby boomer generation is very susceptible to this problem. Typically, their parents grew up in the Depression era and were good savers, unlike the baby boomers. Those baby boomers who have managed to save have seen their nest eggs ...

Why Retirees Shouldn't Invest in Property Investing in property is a popular means of building wealth for retirement. Typically, keen property investors will build a portfolio of properties using borrowed funds in the expectation that the increase in value of the properties over time will allow them to sell off one or two at retirement leaving a portfolio of properties with no debt. The rental income from the properties, ...

Five Common Investment Myths Not knowing how to go about it is one of the main reasons why people don’t invest, along with a number of misconceptions about investing. Here are the most common myths and why you shouldn’t believe them: Investing is only for people with a lot of money Diversified managed funds make investing easy for smaller amounts. Most funds will accept a low initial deposit (around $1,000), which c...

Bring Your Aussie Super Home Spending time in Australia on a working holiday has been part of the Kiwi way of life for many years. The trouble is that since 1992, when it became compulsory in Australia to contribute to a superannuation scheme, locked-in funds have had to be left behind when it’s time to come home. From 1 July, 2013 however, it will be possible to transfer money between Australian complying superannuatio...

Turn Financial Knowledge into Action While New Zealanders in general have an excellent grasp of basic financial concepts, a recent survey has found that they are not so good at putting into practice what they know. The survey, undertaken by the Commission for Financial Literacy and Retirement Income with the support of ANZ, ranked New Zealanders well ahead of other OECD countries on financial knowledge. However it also sh...

The Happiest Man in the World He is said to be the happiest man in the world. His name is Matthieu Ricard and he is a molecular geneticist turned Buddhist monk who resides at the Shechen Tennyi Dargyeling Monastery in Nepal. Ricard has spent a lifetime exploring the concept of happiness. As Ricard says; “whatever we do, whatever we hope, whatever we dream – somehow is related to a deep, profound desire for well-being ...

Record Lows for Mortgage Interest Rates It has been many years since we’ve seen mortgage interest rates so low. That’s great news for first home buyers and investors in particular. Banks appear to be in a bidding war to attract borrowers. Meanwhile the Reserve Bank is in the process of implementing measures to restrain mortgage lending so as to reduce the risk of house price inflation. Borrowing money at a low intere...

The Pitfalls of Overseas Investments It is not uncommon for New Zealanders to have overseas investments. Migration to New Zealand, working holidays overseas and inheritances can all lead to investment assets being held outside the country. Examples might be shares in foreign companies, foreign unit trust investments, foreign superannuation schemes and foreign life insurance policies. There are some pitfalls in leaving the...