Ascent Private Wealth

27/03/2023

Our office Dalzotto wine delivery arrived! Looking forward to Friday after work drinks

17/06/2018

People love jumping on the latest investment trend, but sometimes keeping it simple is the best way to find value:

While most people have been busy watching the FIFA World Cup, I’ve spent some time scanning the world of investments. And I came across a couple of interesting findings!

13/06/2018

The Productivity Commission has made critical findings into the Superannuation system. However, the problem may be how we use the system, not the other way round.

Potential underperformance of $635,000, a plethora of administration fees, and a multiplicity of insurance premiums that you’ll never use. This was the outcome from the Productivity Commission into the Superannuation system. It’s obvious, they have created a superannuation system to the detrimen...

11/06/2018

Wealth & Value: which is more important? The answer isn't as obvious as it may seem.

Wealth and value is a paradox. We all want more wealth, but really, we are seeking greater value; greater value to our lives and our family’s lives. The reason wealth is the primary driver in our decision making is because it’s easy: you can count wealth and you can easily plot wealth on a graph...

03/06/2018

We anticipate a lot of political noise this week. However, it's always best to turn the noise down before making any investment decisions:

In an ideal world, there would be separation of political noise and stock market movement. Yet unfortunately, this is the phenomena of signalling theory: when noise effects the way investors think about products, despite knowing little about the source of the noise.

28/05/2018

Sometimes a conversation about money management can be worth it's weight in gold. The Adviser Alpha can make all the difference:

Any plan requires good communication. And sometimes, catching up for a chat is a big deal. Just look at the fuss caused so far by the meeting between North Korea and the USA: news headlines, fluctuating diplomatic relations and volatile stock markets. Yes, that’s right, a man called Kim having a c...

24/05/2018

The real value of financial advice comes down to whether you and your family achieve your lifestyle goals. It’s not about building so much wealth that you can fill your swimming pool with gold coins like Disney character, Uncle Scrooge (unless of course, that is one of your lifestyle goals).

Edition 49 of Ascent Insights, the penultimate edition of the half century, comes at a time when Australia needs great financial planning more than ever. And, just as importantly, at a time when Australians needs to be reminded of the benefits of intelligent financial advice.

21/05/2018

We all have a financial plan. Yours is titled: "whatever you are doing right now".

We all have a financial plan. Yours is titled: whatever you are doing right now. And it may be more sophisticated and convoluted than you think. Your financial plan involves cash flow decisions; ordering Uber Eats while watching the royal wedding. It includes a real estate component; renovate the fa...

14/05/2018

Remember five weeks ago when the stock markets were tumbling down? Well, now the ASX200 is poised to a hit a 10-year high:

It feels like a lifetime ago that stock markets were like a boulder rolling down a hill, and we the investors, were like the mythological Greek King, Sisyphus; condemned to watch our boulder roll down the hill, only to have to try push it back up again. In other words, investing felt hopeless; big-t...

09/05/2018

There's been a positive response to the 2018 Federal Budget: forecasted declining national debt mixed with personal income tax cuts. Check out the 2018 Federal Budget summary:

While our Canberra counterparts sit back and have a toast at the prospect of a declining national debt, the media and general public have a chance to absorb the proposals of the 2018 Federal Budget. And it’s fair to say that the initial response from the media is positive. Scott Morrison’s third...

30/04/2018

Korean unification is a great example of how global markets develop. The obvious outcome is peace, but the underlying reason is global trade and prosperity.

The Berlin Wall was brought down because people were tired of wearing Bulgarian shoes; that’s the theory according to political satirist, P.J O’Rourke. In much the same way, the triumphant moment of Korean unification over the weekend, is largely driven by North Koreas inevitable drift into a fr...