Smart money weekly; Election results, Recession fears in the US, How to buy your $3m Bondi home, and blockchain trends

Ben Nash
Hey team,

Happy Monday.

The Australian election took place on Saturday night and the developments were unprecedented. At the time of writing this, there are still 13 seats in doubt which realistically has the power to dictate a significant amount of policy outcomes. You might be asking – what could this change mean for me and my money? If/when changes are rolled out, I’ll keep you updated directly so you’re clear on what it means for you.

Off the back of a tumultuous week both here and woes continuing over on Wall St, one thing to remember is that even though elections may sway share markets and the currency in the short term, it is important to note that it is the earnings profile of companies and the strength of the economy that play greater roles in determining the long term performance of the share market and the Aussie dollar.

Upcoming events:
It is almost the end of the financial year and no better time than to get on top of the tax hacks we have coming up on our June 8 event. Check out the rest of our events right through winter, covering money fundamentals, including – money mistakes, money mindset and investing. Click through to register and join the session:

Event schedule and links to book here:

Share market wrap
Australian shares jumped in Friday afternoon trade, led by gains in export-centric mining stocks after the nation’s largest trading partner, China, cut interest rates to stimulate its slowing economy. The gains came despite another volatile day on Wall Street as investors weighed up the risk of rapid interest rate hikes tipping the US economy into recession.

Key sharemarket numbers:  

  • The ASX ‘All Ords’ (top 500 shares in Australia) finished the week 2.99% higher than last Friday, at 7,380.9 points.
  • The US ‘S&P 500’ (Top 500 shares in America) finished the week -1.60% lower than last week, at 3,900.79 points.
  • The US ‘Nasdaq’ (Top 2500+ mainly tech shares in America) finished the week -1.46 % lower than last week, at 11,388.50 points.
  • The Global FTSE ‘All World’ index (largest 3100 companies in the world) finished the week 0.81% higher than last week (Friday AEDT) at 7,302.74
  • The S&P Cryptocurrency ‘Mega Cap’ Index (tracking market value of Bitcoin and Ethereum) is currently at 3,190.23 for the month, down -24.06% for the month to date

Investment story of the week: Discovery Alaska Ltd (ASX: DAF)
Discovery Alaska Ltd, formerly Discovery Africa Ltd is an Australian based company engaged in the development of exploration projects for Gold in Western Australia. Its projects include the WA Gold Projects. The firm has two reporting segments: exploration for mineral commodities in North America, and exploration for gold in Australia. The mineral commodity segment of the firm includes an interest in the Chulitna Project. On Thursday, they released an announcement that they have found the presence of widespread lithium mineralisation during a review of historical drill core from the Coal Creek prospect of the Chulitna Project, offering solid evidence of lithium potential for the Alaskan project. The company’s share price is up approximately 50% this week. With lithium being a hot commodity at the moment, and the positive news around its presence, DAF may have a strong couple of years ahead.

Smart Money upside #69
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 is from one of our clients to help you take your money game to the next level.

Numbers/Background
Couple; late 40’s, income ~$350k, total assets ~$560k, saving~ $12k annually

Frustrations
Our inability to save, and trying to exit a poor property purchase that has not gone up in value. We’re frustrated that we cannot save a deposit fast enough to outpace market growth.

What they wanted from us / the advice process
Clear property strategy and savings plan

What success looks like for them
We want to own a place similar to what we’re renting and have a beach holiday house. We want to support our child and be comfortable having regular holidays.

What money strategy they were following before we went through the planning process
None

What money strategy they choose to pursue from our planning work
Buy mulitple investment properties, invest in a diversified high growth index portfolio,  set up a clear banking structure, realign super to match our risk profiles and save on fees

Key benefits of going through the process
Education, the confidence in where we are heading if we follow the plan, and the modelling was a great equalizer that showed us where we are, and where we can go if we make different investment decisions.

Value of advice after all advice fees year one: $41k
Year 20 upside after advice fees: $3.4m

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

Giving update of the week
This week we’ve been working with a couple of new clients that are really passionate about sustainable investing, which has led me to think a lot about what’s happening on the planet and how we can have a positive impact. We’ve celebrated by protecting a further 100 square metres of rainforest. If you want to learn more about how you can have a positive impact on our planet by following the next few weeks on the podcast.  You can check out more information about our giving here.

Money Hack of the week: ASX ethical investing options
Finding investment options that align with your values can be tricky, especially if you’re thinking in terms of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’. Instead, you need to think of the pros and cons. I sat down with Rory Cunningham from the ASX to discuss decision making when choosing responsible investment products and the ASX education resources. Check out our full chat here.

Money mistake of the week: How trends may affect the future of blockchains.
How well do you know the basics of blockchain? I sat down with Joni Pirovich to discuss whether blockchains are interoperable, blockchain trends, how certain coins can be ‘wrapped’ and why mum and dad investors need to be careful of engaging with unreliable protocols. Check out our full chat here.

Jargon Buster of the Week: Credit limit (via Macquarie)
The approved amount of funds available to a borrower to use according to the agreed purpose.

Podcast from last week: #169 How to buy your $3m Bondi dream home
This workshop will help you understand the property market, how to set up a COVID-proof property buying plan, and how to reduce risk when you buy property.

With the interest rates at all-time lows, tech companies, the broader economy recovering strongly from COVID disruption, and the government splashing cash around like confetti, the property market is starting to boom.

If you want to take advantage of the current property market opportunities now, you need to be ready to act. But recent increases in values have made it harder to get into the market, meaning today you need to be smart about HOW you buy property.

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.