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VivaEthical Financial Advice Helping you make smarter, more sustainable financial decisions Are your finances on track with the future you want?

With a straightfoward, ethical and sustainable approach, VIVAEthical takes the complexity out of financial planning through friendly, expert advice focused on your needs. Take the first step towards taking control of your money by having a quick chat with us.

The recent referral of a major super fund by the Environmental Defenders Office to ASIC raises an important question for...
04/10/2026

The recent referral of a major super fund by the Environmental Defenders Office to ASIC raises an important question for super members: is your money still being invested in line with the option you chose?

People select an ethical or sustainable super option because they want to avoid certain industries or support a more responsible approach to investing, and assume ethical criteria are static. In reality, internal investment guidelines can be surprisingly fluid, and the rules behind those options can change over time.

Funds may adjust their investment approach to manage growth, costs or access to investments. While changes may sometimes be necessary, a fund has obligations to
- act in members’ best financial interests
- provide information that is clear and not misleading, and
- give members appropriate notice of significant changes to their investment options.

It's worth checking whether your fund has changed:

the industries it excludes;
how it defines “ethical” or “sustainable”;
the companies or assets it can invest in; or
the way it reports on environmental and social issues.

This is not just about whether a fund’s marketing matches its investments. It's about choice and transparency. If you selected a super option for specific environmental or ethical reasons, you should be able to understand whether those standards have changed—and whether the option you're invested in still suits your intentions.

The name of an investment option is not enough. What matters is the policy behind it, the investments it holds, and whether it continues to reflect what members were told they were choosing.

If you are unsure whether your super option still aligns with your values, we can help you review it.

Book a FREE call with our team to review your strategy. Check out comments for the link.

One in three Australians over 50 don’t know where to turn if their cognitive health starts to shift and they can’t manag...
30/09/2026

One in three Australians over 50 don’t know where to turn if their cognitive health starts to shift and they can’t manage their money anymore. That’s a massive gap in security.

Planning for this isn’t about expecting the worst; it’s about making sure your preferences and ethical values stay in the driver’s seat, even if you’re not the one holding the wheel.

Here is a practical checklist to help protect your independence:

1. Appoint an Enduring Power of Attorney. This is the legal foundation for someone you trust to act for you.
2. Record your ethical 'why'. If you want your super invested in sustainable assets, write it down. Don’t leave your family guessing about your principles.
3. Centralise the vitals. Keep your financial wishes, key contacts, and documents in one secure place they can actually find.
4. Review your beneficiaries. Make sure your nominations are current so your legacy goes exactly where you intended.

Starting these conversations while things are calm makes a world of difference later on. It keeps you in control.

If you’re unsure how to align your future protection with your ethical investment goals, we should talk.

Book a FREE Call.
Download the Free Ethical Investing Guide.

*Source: COTA Australia’s State of the Older Nation 2025 report (survey of 2,826 Australians aged 50+).

It's Ethical Investment Week in Australia!With Ethical Investment Week running from 28 September to 5 October, this is a...
30/09/2026

It's Ethical Investment Week in Australia!

With Ethical Investment Week running from 28 September to 5 October, this is a timely opportunity to consider whether your investments continue to reflect your values, priorities and long-term goals.

Each year, the Ethical Advisers Co-op (EAC) highlights the purpose and practical benefits of ethical investment and advice, with events, conversations and resources available throughout the week.

This year’s theme, The Legacy We Leave, considers how ethical investing can help build, protect and pass on wealth in ways that support the future we want to see.

A new guide, AI and Human Rights, will also be released during the week. It explores issues including privacy, bias, regulation and business risk, and includes practical questions to help investors understand how AI-related risks may be considered within their portfolios.

And throughout the week,EAC will share perspectives on the most important current issues we're facing, including:

- AI, energy and ESG
- Next-generation investing
- Estate planning and designing a values-based legacy
- Climate and investing in a liveable future

Ethical Investment Week is also a useful prompt to review your own portfolio.

Have your priorities changed? Do you understand how your investments address climate, human rights, technology and other issues that matter to you?

See comments below for a link to check out what’s on during Ethical Investment Week.

Also a link to book a time for a conversation about reviewing your investments.

Insurance premiums are climbing, but there is a hidden cost most professionals miss.You might be carefully curating an e...
21/09/2026

Insurance premiums are climbing, but there is a hidden cost most professionals miss.

You might be carefully curating an ethical investment portfolio while unknowingly funding the exact industries you've blacklisted through your life insurance policy.

Many legacy retail insurance policies still pay ongoing commissions to advisers or are built into products owned by institutions with heavy fossil fuel or to***co exposure.

When your premiums increase, your involuntary support for those sectors increases too. It creates a strategic 'leak' where your defensive plan works against your growth goals.

How to audit your protection:

1. Check your statement for "Adviser Service Fees" or legacy commissions. Many older policies have these baked into the premium.
2. Identify the parent company. Is your insurer a subsidiary of a bank or investment house that fails your ESG screens?
3. Review your 'inside super' insurance. If you have moved to an ethical super fund, ensure the underlying insurer isn't a conflict of interest.

Aligning your wealth shouldn't stop at your share portfolio. Practical financial planning means your protection and your principles actually talk to each other.

If you are seeing your premiums rise and want to ensure your cover still fits your values, let’s review your strategy.

Book a FREE Call: https://calendly.com/elizabeth-48/15-minute-phone-chat
Download the Free Ethical Investing Guide https://www.vivafp.com.au/get-the-guide

I’m a big fan of anything that reduces the "friction tax" of dealing with the ATO.The ATO app, which houses the myDeduct...
14/09/2026

I’m a big fan of anything that reduces the "friction tax" of dealing with the ATO.

The ATO app, which houses the myDeductions tool, was last updated August 26, 2026, bringing general improvements and bug fixes for Tax Time. If you haven’t looked at it lately, the main win is the ability to link your myGov account directly within the app. It’s available for iOS and Android, and frankly, it’s a no-brainer for keeping your records in one place rather than scrambling every July.

A few practical things I think are worth noting:

First, the record-keeping bit. You’re supposed to keep tax records for five years after you lodge. Doing that with paper or loose PDFs is hit and miss at best. The app makes this a lot more streamlined, especially for work expenses and self-education claims.

Second, the "transaction lag." One of the biggest mistakes I see is people rushing to lodge the second the financial year ends. The app lets you check what’s actually been pre-filled. Sometimes your employer’s payment summaries or your rental and investment income data haven't landed yet. If you lodge before that data hits, you’re just creating an audit headache for yourself later.

What I particularly like:
• You can see the outcome of your 2025-26 return in real-time.
• You can download your Notice of Assessment directly.
• You can keep an eye on your super balances—which is a vital audit step to make sure your contributions are actually hitting the account.

I’ve introduced a lot of people to the myDeductions tool in the app. You just record the expense, and then you can upload the whole lot to your tax agent when the time comes. It saves so much back-and-forth.

If you’re looking at your tax planning for the year and wondering how to actually grow those savings once the return is done, feel free to reach out.

Start by checking your myGov link in the app today.

Book a Call for a quick chat if you want to look at the bigger picture.

Iron Man may save the world, but his carbon footprint would be another story.Based on estimates of his suits, technology...
11/09/2026

Iron Man may save the world, but his carbon footprint would be another story.

Based on estimates of his suits, technology and private jet use, he could produce around 2.1 million pounds of CO₂ a year — approximately 953 metric tonnes. Applying the same thinking to the Avengers, most of them would probably fail an environmental audit.

There’s a broader lesson here for investors.

We often reward companies that appear bold, fast-moving and disruptive. But high-impact growth can come with high environmental and regulatory risk. Kermit represents a different approach: less spectacle, more efficiency, transparency and consideration for the wider impact of each decision. That may not be as attention-grabbing, but it can be more sustainable over time..

For investors, the key questions are:

How dependent is the company on energy and other limited resources?
Is it prepared for carbon pricing and tighter regulation?
Does it have strong relationships with employees, customers, communities and regulators?
Is it improving efficiency, or simply using more resources to grow?

Sustainability isn’t separate from financial performance. Using resources efficiently, maintaining strong governance and earning the trust of stakeholders can all support a company’s resilience and profitability over time.

TIP: Review your superannuation or investment portfolio for “techno-risk.”
Are you backing companies that fix one problem while creating ten environmental ones elsewhere?

Next steps:
- Consider an ethical audit of your current holdings to see if your investments are following the Iron Man model — high-cost, high-impact growth — or the Kermit model: efficient, responsible and built to last.
- If you’d like to discuss what that could mean for your portfolio, book a 15-minute call here:
https://calendly.com/elizabeth-48/15-minute-phone-chat

The fact that lithium-ion batteries are roughly 50 times less energy-dense than traditional jet fuel. creates a brutal p...
09/09/2026

The fact that lithium-ion batteries are roughly 50 times less energy-dense than traditional jet fuel. creates a brutal physics problem often called "Battery Gravity".

While an electric car can simply carry a heavier battery pack to gain range, a plane is governed by the lift-to-weight ratio.

For a long-haul flight like Melbourne to London, the weight of the batteries required would currently be so heavy the plane couldn't actually leave the ground.

If you are looking at your ethical investment portfolio and wondering why aviation isn't "going green" as fast as passenger cars, this is the reason.

Fuel burns off during a flight, making the plane lighter and more efficient as it goes. A battery stays exactly the same weight from takeoff to landing.

What this means for sustainable investing:
1. Short-haul is the first frontier: Expect to see small regional electric flights (under 90 minutes) become viable this decade.
2. Long-haul needs a different hero: We are likely looking at Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) or green hydrogen rather than batteries for international travel.
3. Beware of over-hyped tech: If a startup promises a long-distance electric 747 next year, the physics simply don't support it yet.

Understanding these technical limits helps you spot which companies are actually leading the transition and which are just using "sustainable" as a marketing label.

Do you think we should prioritise carbon taxes on long-haul flights until the tech catches up, or focus entirely on developing new fuels?

If you want to look under the hood of your own portfolio to see what’s actually being funded, you can download our free Guide to Ethical Investing here: https://www.vivafp.com.au/get-the-guide

It's a particular kind of internal conflict — deciding whether to help your kids financially.You want to give them a boo...
31/08/2026

It's a particular kind of internal conflict — deciding whether to help your kids financially.

You want to give them a boost without taking away their drive to build their own future.

From my experience, the key is having a plan — and not just handing over money. Without one, you might risk your own retirement savings or create a dependency you didn't intend.

I tend to look at this through a 20/60/20 funding split : it’s a way to align your cashflow with your family values.

1️⃣ 20% for immediate ‘Launch’ costs — things like education or a wedding that gives them a clean start without removing the need for them to earn.

2️⃣ 60% for ‘Productive Protection’ — Investing in structures like an investment portfolio or superannuation where the capital grows for their future, but isn't accessible for daily spending.

3️⃣ 20% for a ‘Safety Net’ Insurance that protects them if life throws a curveball, so they’re not relying on your savings as an emergency fund.

This way, you’re not just giving money — you’re building a legacy that protects their future AND respects their independence.

How do you balance helping your kids with protecting your own financial resources? Would love to hear your thoughts!

Ticking the “offset my flight” box doesn’t actually erase the emissions from your trip.That extra $15 usually goes towar...
24/08/2026

Ticking the “offset my flight” box doesn’t actually erase the emissions from your trip.

That extra $15 usually goes towards a carbon offset project — things like tree planting or renewable energy — but actually that's not the same as cutting those emissions straight away.

What you’re really doing is helping fund a project that’s meant to reduce or capture emissions over time, and little effect in the short-medium tem.

One thing that matters here is additionality.

Which means asking whether the project only happened because of the offset money, or whether it was likely going to happen anyway.

For example, if a forest was already protected by law, your payment may not have changed much at all.

So, the real question to ask is are you funding new climate action or buying credits from a project finished a decade ago?

Ethical investing follows the same logic. A 'Green' label on a fund doesn't always mean your money is building new solutions; sometimes it's just hugging a benchmark.

Buying an electric vehicle is often viewed as an instant environmental win, but every new EV actually rolls off the prod...
18/08/2026

Buying an electric vehicle is often viewed as an instant environmental win, but every new EV actually rolls off the production line with a "carbon debt".

Because battery manufacturing and mineral extraction are energy-intensive, a new EV starts its life with a larger footprint than a petrol equivalent.

To actually "go green", you have to drive it enough to pay that debt back.

The math on this depends entirely on where you live. If you're charging in Tasmania or South Australia—where renewables lead the mix—your payback period is relatively short. If you’re on a coal-heavy grid like Victoria or NSW, that break-even point takes significantly longer to reach.

REALLY IMPORTANT:
If you only drive 5,000km a year and sell the car after three years, you might never actually reach the point where the EV becomes cleaner than a traditional car.

Check your numbers:
1. Identify your state's average grid intensity.
2. Estimate your annual mileage (low-mileage drivers take longer to offset the battery debt).
3. Audit your charging source—home solar drastically accelerates the "payback".

We believe ethical investing should be based on data, not just labels. If you want to dive deeper into how we screen for true sustainability, you can listen to our latest discussion on the Get Ethical podcast.

Listen here: https://www.vivafp.com.au/podcast

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