Smart money weekly; COVID continues with government cash splash, how to invest ethically, and the $2b spare parts story

Ben Nash

Hey Team,

Happy Monday.

Before we get into the content for this week I want to give a special shout out to all the amazing ladies in the Pivot team and across the financial services profession.

This week I’m pumped that the team has been recognised in the Women in Finance awards as a finalist for the Women’s Community Program of the Year AND Employer of the Year, and so proud to see our ladies being recognised for their epic contribution to the work we do.  We’re all crossing fingers and toes we can head to the awards ceremony in September, COVID permitting.

With lockdown continuing in NSW, the government announced a stimulus package for small businesses this week which will range from $5-10k. Further to this, the unemployment rate is the lowest it’s been in 10 years falling below 4.9%. When the full details are released, I’ll be going live to give a full update.

Upcoming events
🚀 How to make more money from your employer share plan – Wednesday 21 July 12.30pm – 1.30pm
🚀 How to cut your tax bill – Thursday 22nd July 111:30 am-12:30 pm AEST
🚀 Cryptocurrency Investing 101 – Thursday 12th August 11:30am -12:30pm AEST
🚀 Make More Money: Personal Investing 101 – Thursday 2nd September 11:30 am-12:30 pm AEST
🚀 Finding the right investment for you – Thursday 16th September 11:30 am – 12:30 pm AEST
🚀 How to be smarter with money – Thursday 14th October 11:30 am – 12:30 pm AEST
🚀 Avoid key money mistakes – Thursday 4th November 11:30 am – 12:30 pm AEST

Share market wrap
This week saw another interesting week to kick off the financial year. With most of Australia in lockdown, it left the Australian share market soft. U.S. stock futures were about flat on Thursday as US investors gear up for the second half of the US financial year.

Key sharemarket numbers:

  • The ASX ‘All Ords’ (top 500 shares in Australia) finished the week 1.0% higher than last Friday, on 7,630.70 points.
  • The US ‘S&P 500’ (Top 500 shares in America) finished the week 0.71% higher than last week (Friday AEDT), at 4,360.03 points.
  • The US ‘Nasdaq’ (Top 2500+ mainly tech shares in America) finished the week -0.2473% lower than last week (Friday AEDT), on 14,543.13 points.
  • The Global FTSE ‘All World’ index (largest 3100 companies in the world) finished the week -1.54% lower than last week (Friday AEDT), at 7,032.50%
  • The S&P Cryptocurrency ‘Mega Cap’ Index (tracking market value of Bitcoin and Ethereum) is currently at – 10.81% for the month, down 3,278.40% from last week

In the news: Where cryptocurrency fits for smart investors

In the last 10 years, the total value of all cryptocurrencies has increased by over 133,000 per cent from less than $US1.5 billion ($A2 billion) to over $US2.4 trillion ($A3.2 trillion) today. Beyond even these highs, crypto like bitcoin is tipped to continue to rise strongly over the next 12 months.
Along with this increase in value and the future potential gains, there has been a lot of press attention, leading many Aussies to question whether crypto should be part of their investment portfolio. [read the full story here]

Investment story of the week: ARB Corporation Limited (ASX: ARB)
ARB had a cracking 12 months, up well over 130%! They design, manufacture, distribute and sell motor vehicle accessories and light metal engineering works, specialising in 4WD cars. Their share price ticked up again this week in their EOFY 20/21 announcement to the ASX on Wednesday that they had a growth of 33.9% (unaudited) in the last FY which resulted in a profit of approximately $145-150 million. With this pandemic dragging out and limited domestic travel looking to continue for quite some time, we’re confident about their positive short term outlook.

Money Hack of the week: Structuring your finances to reduce your stress levels
It’s time to overhaul your thinking. If you’re sacrificing your ideal lifestyle now to have more of a nest egg later, why? Have you ever thought that you can have both? I chatted with Pivot Wealth clients Olivia and Sean about how their thinking changed once coming onboard with us. They’ve felt the weight of money stress being lifted off their shoulders with the structure and balance that comes with financial forecasting. Check out our full chat here. Listen to the full details here.

Money mistake of the week: Not aligning your portfolio with your values
Think about it, what does your share portfolio say about your values? I sat down with ethical investing expert, James Tayler, to discuss what ethical investing is.
By looking at your investments with an ESG lens – that’s with environmental, social or corporate governance issues in mind, you’ll not only invest in businesses aligned with your values, but you might avoid investing in unsustainable industries,
Listen to my full chat here.

Jargon Buster of the Week: AUM (via Canstar)
The acronym for Assets Under Management: assets managed by a Money Manager, typically in a Managed Account.

Podcast from last week: #123 Crypto podcast series story w. Joni Pirovich – Chatting all things Crypto and Blockchain
In this episode, I chat to Joni Pirovich, she’s the founder and director of Blockchain & Digital Assets, and a total superstar in the crypto space, an accountant, and a tax lawyer by trade, but has developed a deep interest in the crypto space.

I’m going to warn you on this one, that the conversation almost broke my brain. We really got into the super basics of the crypto market, blockchain, the myriad of digital assets that I didn’t even know existed, what they are, what they can do and some of the risks that surround them as well as Joni’s view, as a deep insider on the crypto market, then we changed gears a bit and talked about Joni’s money story and some of the lessons that she learned as well as her biggest tip for a 15-year-old self, which is a cracker. Check it out on your platform of choice here:
Apple
Spotify
Stitcher
Podbean

Giving update of the Week
Doing good business isn’t just about making good money. The entrepreneur revolution also has a big part to play in pushing social change. I consider it a privilege to be part of the B1G1 community that is making waves and taking a leadership role for businesses to show the power of small to make big change.

I was stoked to get recognition of our contribution in the mail from B1G1 Founders Masami Sato and Paul Dunn during the week, and I’m so incredibly proud of the impact Pivot Wealth has had over the last three and a bit years through our involvement in the B1G1 community.

Huge shout out to the Pivot Wealth clients and community who have supported our business giving initiatives, I’m so proud of the fact that the support of our clients has allowed us to create over 265,000 positive impacts on the planet. Some of the impacts I’m most proud of:
* Built five homes for disadvantaged families in India
* Offsetting our office carbon footprint
* Saved 1,000 square metres of rainforest in the Daintree
* Provided 80,960 days of access to life-saving water for people in need
* Educated over 15,000 people on proper animal care
* Provided 1,152 days of business training to women in Malawi

If you want to learn more about how you can do good business and do good on the planet at the same time, hit up the B1G1 team for more info. You can check out more information about our giving here.

Smart Money upside #26
Because people don’t often talk about the full ins and outs of their money, it’s hard to learn lessons from hearing what good and bad choices other people make. This story from one of our clients to help you take your money game to the next level.

Numbers/Background
Individual, late 30’s; household income ~ 120k; total assets ~ $500k; with Investment Portfolio; savings ~ $3k  annually

Frustrations
Has a really good savings plan in place, but doesn’t have a plan with savings, Feels like he’s doing lots of things that aren’t necessarily making sense.

What they wanted from us / the advice process
Doesn’t want money to be the focus of his attention, Do not worry about money, Would like a plan with money – house/investments.

What success looks like for them
To not worry about money, Would like a plan with money – house/investments.

What money strategy they were following before we went through the planning process
Guided by blogs/internet education.

What money strategy they chose to pursue from our planning work
Get ready to buy a home within 2-3 years (Possibly 12 months), invest regularly into a globally diversified investment strategy that has a clear goal.

Key benefits of going through the process
Plan, and have peace of mind.

Value of advice after all advice fees year one: $45,469
Year 20 upside after advice fees: $1,357,103

If this story resonates and you want to chat about how to get these sorts of results, you can book an intro call here.

Be awesome,

Ben

 

PS: If you want a hand to get on the front foot with your money in 2021, check out our 45-minute one-on-one sessions here. We’re donating 100% of the money raised to charity, so you can up your money game and do something good on the planet at the same time.

 

Disclaimer:
I know you’re smarter than someone that would need me to write the words that come next, but our compliance peeps are real hard-asses so here we go… This information is not personal advice, poetry, or a map to where Jimmy Hoffa is buried. It may only be regarded as general advice, and definitely shouldn’t be considered something worthy of inclusion for Donna Hay’s next cookbook or the Archibald prize. This is actually just an email communication that has been sent to a bunch of people and doesn’t even have your name on it. Your personal objectives, needs or financial situation have not been considered when preparing this email, but I want you to know that I have spent a lot of time thinking about the Venn diagram intersection of poetry, landscaping, and essential oils – if you’re fascinated by this same phenomenon please reply so we can compare notes. You should consider the appropriateness of any general advice we have given you, having regard to your own objectives, financial situation and needs, and if necessary, seek advice before acting on it. You should also consider other people when getting on and off public transport, smiling more, eating healthy, and listening to your mum when she tells you that you’ve been working too hard. Where the information relates to a financial product, you should obtain and consider the relevant product disclosure statement before making any decision to purchase that financial product. Where the information relates to a hilarious joke I’ve made, you should consider belly laughing deeply. Worth noting also that past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance when it comes to investments, and definitely not when it comes to the Wallabies. Financial services guide. All jokes aside and just to be clear, this information may only be regarded as general advice. That is, your personal objectives, needs or financial situations were not considered when preparing it.  You should consider the appropriateness of any general advice we have given you, having regard to your own objectives, financial situation and needs, and if necessary, seek advice before acting on it. Where the information relates to a financial product, you should obtain and consider the relevant product disclosure statement before making any decision to purchase that financial product. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.