Before we all get too excited about the announcements made in the budget, let’s remember that everything reported are proposals that need to successfully pass through Parliament before they become law. And often that means being subject to changes throughout the process. But there are bits of good news. Let’s take a look at some […]
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Revelations from the Royal Commission & Where We Stand
The revelations unfolding from the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry has lifted the lid on the behaviours of corporate executives and exposed a recurring void of the concept of “putting the interests of clients first”. In the second round of hearings focusing on financial advice, we […]
Does an award-winning fund mean higher returns?
Chasing past performance is not such a good idea when it comes to investing. Investment markets are volatile by nature, and backing a winner based on last year’s returns is like backing ‘yesterday’s hero’. Each year, several organisations hand out awards for the top performing funds from the previous year. The criteria for winning is […]
What does financial wellbeing mean for Australians?
Financial wellbeing means different things in different countries. What does financial wellbeing mean for Australians? Around the world, national programs are being developed to help improve financial literacy in the public realm. In Australia, similar efforts are occurring through organisations such as ASIC and Financial Literacy Australia with the aim of creating a better-informed public […]
The only time to put your eggs in 1 basket is…
Easter!
How to set goals & actually reach them
The answer is to set goals in a S.M.A.R.T way. If you’re thinking, “Yes, I’ve set goals but how do I actually put them into action?”, then this article is for you. There’s a psychology behind the way we set goals and our chances of success. Studies have shown that writing down what we intend […]
Darren on Business Builders with David Koch
Darren joined David Koch and Clinton Maynard on the weekend for the Talking Lifestyles show Business Builders. Click the image below to listen to a recording of the show (Darren’s segment starts at 15:21). What Can Align Financial Do For You? Visit our homepage to learn more about our service. If you would like to […]
Why you should expect market “crashes”
With the recent media attention on the market “crash”, Darren put together this video to help explain what is volatility in the market and how it relates to the nature of investing. Click below to watch: What Can Align Financial Do For You? Visit our homepage to learn more about our service. If you would […]
How to find a financial adviser (like us) that’s not controlled by a bank
ASIC recently conducted a review of the financial advice arm of Australia’s five largest banking and financial services institutions on how they administer the conflict of interest in providing financial advice whilst also producing their own in-house financial products. In crude terms, the issue ASIC was looking at was this – can you give advice […]
How to register for NPP super fast payments
The New Payments Platform (NPP) launched yesterday, going live across 60 financial institutions including the four major banks to provide a new lightning-fast payment system. NPP is set to revolutionise the way we make payments with instant bank transfers using a PayID only. That’s right, the days of double checking correct BSB and Account […]