Business 229 Financial Services

08/06/2018

Everyone has something wish to leave behind for friends and loved ones. It doesn't hurt to get a will reviewed or to look at putting in place Enduring Powers of Attorney. If this is you give us a call we can help.

A former lover got Gary Wendt's most prized possessions. His friends didn't like it.

07/06/2018

This is a concern for all NZers. All residence in in New Zealand need to consider getting advice. Read this article and give us a call we can sit down with you and talk about your future.

According to a 2008 study in the Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports, five of the 31 major global football tournament finals between 1990-2007 ended in goalless draws.

15/05/2016

For those who want to be in the know this is worth a very good read. Why is it that people in New Zealand want to buy life insurance from a bank or directly from a quick selling insurance company? For the most part advice for life insurance is free. Advice puts you in a product that meets your needs and expectations. Talk to people in Christchurch about what it was like for them to find out about what is covered and what is not covered after an event that should lead to a claim. Here have a read for yourself....
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/79938336/life-insurers-exclusions-allow-them-to-avoid-paying-claims

OPINION: When buying life insurance, it pays to know what you are actually covered for.

13/01/2015

Be safe this summer

http://www.quart-studio.com See the fun side of summer time. See how NOT to use waterslides and jumps. If you are old... please, don't use or break kids toys...

13/01/2015

Will you be able to afford to retire?

If saving money for your retirement isn’t high on your list of priorities, the following information, which appeared in a recent Listener article, could make all the difference.
If you live in Auckland or Wellington, a no-frills lifestyle costs $241 per week per couple. On this you would spend less than $100 a week on food. There’s no money for alcohol, clothes
or holidays. If you live in the provinces, you will need $244 a week, provided you have no housing costs.
Should you want what is known as a ‘choices’ lifestyle, a couple in Auckland and Wellington need $762 and in the provinces $694. This gives you around $200 a week for food, a little alcohol, some cheap clothing and about $100 a week for transport and recreation.
The current level of superannuation payment is $537 for a couple no matter where you live. If you have no other income, this puts you between the no-frills and the choices lifestyle, neither of which probably reflect your current standard of living.
So, if you don’t want to spend your retirement worrying about where your next meal is coming from, starting a retirement savings plan right away is an excellent idea.
The question we have for you is this. Do you have a plan in regards to your KiwiSaver? If not you need one. There is no such thing as a default plan, you need to be driven by expectation of return from your Kiwisaver and match it with your desired retirement lifestyle.
Talk with us about what you need because there are many different products on the market. Not all will suit you and your lifestyle, or your goals. We will be able to detail the benefits and downsides of each product and ensure you have the right one for your circumstances, more importantly we want your Kiwisaver to exceed your expectation. The important part of that is what plan, what product and what are your goals?
Talk to us on 06-759-0008 or send us an email to [email protected]

13/01/2015

Local bias sparks warning

A strong local bias in KiwiSaver and non-KiwiSaver investments is leaving New Zealand investors vulnerable in the event of an economic crisis, one fund manager says.
Wednesday, December 31st 2014, 2:25PM
by Susan Edmunds
KiwiSaver funds have a strong local investment slant.
According to the Reserve Bank, there is $10.6 billion of KiwiSaver funds invested in New Zealand assets, compared to $11.7 billion in offshore assets – a strong bias to New Zealand assets considering New Zealand represents just 0.1% of global sharemarkets by capitalisation.
Default funds with high cash and NZ bond balances affect the overall allocations.
Morningstar estimated that 27.4% of KiwiSaver allocations are to international shares while 13.2% is to New Zealand and Australian shares.
Pathfinder Asset Management’s John Berry said this was a clear indication of home country bias. “If all of New Zealand’s listed companies were combined into one mega-corporation, that company would still only rate as number 61 in the S&P500. There are 60 listed companies in the US alone that are bigger than NZ's entire market.”
But he said it was not uncommon to favour assets close to home. Concerns have been raised in Australia about self-managed superannuation funds investing only in Australian cash, property and equities. They are being encouraged to seek professional advice to reduce their concentration risk.
Berry said: “Investors in all countries tend to suffer a home bias – we naturally want to invest in what we understand and what is familiar to us.”
Berry said it created a potential risk for New Zealand savers. “In aggregate the KiwiSaver savings pool is overexposed to New Zealand cash, bonds and shares. Given we are such a small economy and investors are already exposed to the NZ economy through non-KiwiSaver investments, including housing, more diversification away from New Zealand risk would be sensible. If New Zealand was to face an economic crisis, many investors could suffer by having both their KiwiSaver and non-KiwiSaver eggs in one concentrated basket.”
He said if KiwiSaver investors were getting advice, the asset allocation of the $20 billion in KiwiSaver would look quite different.

12/01/2015

Protect Your Online Assets
By the Perpetual Guardian

When we think of our assets, we tend to imagine our house, our car and our bank accounts -
but what about our Facebook account or our email login?
We conduct a large portion of our lives online, and this means we inevitably accumulate
digital assets – some of which have real worth.
Earlier this year the computer security company, McAfee did a worldwide survey which
revealed that the average person’s digital assets were valued at over NZ$45,000, including
$17,000 for personal memories stored on our devices, and $6,400 for personal records.
The same study showed that 55% of us store digital assets on our devices that would be
impossible to recreate, re-download or repurchase. So, why don’t we do more to protect
ourselves and the information stored on our devices?
The WILLplus service by Perpetual Guardian offers you a Digital Vault - a secure digital storage
facility which will keep your important documents - whether they be of sentimental or
practical value, such as your Will, Trust deeds or birth certificates. Conveniently, access to
these documents can then be given to the various people who need them, such as family
members, accountants or the executor of your estate.
As well as protecting your essential documents, WILLplus offers two other valuable benefits
at no additional cost:

1. Review
As part of the package, you can keep your Will up-to-date with our annual review. This review
allows you to update your Will to account for any life changes which may have taken place
over the year. These may be things such as updating your beneficiaries, executors, guardians
or any gifts. This process ensures that your things go to the people you intend, and that your
loved ones will be protected as you would want.

2. Help
We are launching Bereavement Help, an online support service for when a loved one passes
away. Bereavement Help provides online information about what to do next, and a freephone
to call if you need help.
For only $34.95 a year the WILLplus service makes it easy to protect your digital assets, as
well as ensuring your estate planning is up to date.
If you would like more information about WILLplus, call us on
06-759-0008, or email us at [email protected]

12/12/2014

Here is a funny video for you to enjoy. Hope you don't get left off Santa's list this year and have to go to this extreme to get a present.

Merry Christmas!

12/12/2014

Have you reviewed your financial position this year? If not you should do. Give us a call and we can help you with this.

An up-to-date financial plan is especially important in uncertain times.

12/12/2014

ACC receives around 670,000 claims for accidents around the home each year. Don't become one of the statistics this Christmas.

Be safe and have a Christmas and New Year

Media release about the humble ham proving the undoing for some Kiwi cooks last Christmas, with several claims accepted by ACC for ham-related injuries.