Plan 2 Prosper

You are invited to an MLC Market Update Webcast

With the current market turbulence, you are probably worrying about its effect on your super or pension and are keen to know what you can do to protect your retirement nest egg.

In times like these, staying informed is the best way of staying in control. With this in mind, we would like to invite you to view a live, online panel discussion with MLC.

The panellists will provide a market update and talk through some of the options and choices that may be available to you given the current market circumstances.

This will be a great opportunity for you to raise your concerns, hear what other people are saying, and ask MLC’s market experts any questions.

You can watch the webcast live on Wednesday 4 December 2008 at [11 am EDST] at

http://mlc.permission.com.au/cgi-bin16/DM/y/nBkiX0UI6Rj0BA7z0RT510Er

or at a later time that’s more convenient for you.

Go to the Market Watch site for more information and contact us should you have any further questions or concerns.

Where to from here?

• Contact us
• Get more information about an Educational Forum for you and your friends
• Register and receive regular email updates

Media headlines continue to be dominated by reports regarding uncertainty and volatility within our investment markets. As is usual, there are unhelpful voices saying that they got out of the markets before point X or point Y and are therefore smarter than the rest of us because of this proprietary  system or that registered business model … I trust when you come across them you recognise the sales pitch for what it is and insert bucket loads lots of disbelief.

Joe Public and for that matter Arthur Adviser are being scared out of their wits by media headlines highlighting doom and gloom, depression period analalogies and even more uncertainty. It is natural that consumer press will want to take a golden opportunity to grab reader and viewer attention. All this does is provide a result similar to every one in Rockhampton throwing their tins of mower fuel from the lookouts on Mt Archer toward the fires, fanning and feeding the flames that have been harassing the ranges and blanketing the region in a smoky haze.

More than anything, we as humans tend to fundamentally be herd animals. We like to move together and to think the same way … even if those thoughts and actions are in conflict with what we know fundamentally to be true. What we know for sure is that emotional human responses are rarely rewarded, and nobody has a clear crystal ball to forecast when and how the markets will respond. Bear markets do end and this time its not any different.

If you continue to watch the news and continue to get depressed by the “news” being provided, the best advice that can be provided is to simply stop watching the news. Take a moment for yourself. Go outside for a walk. Do those things you enjoy. Me, I enjoy pretending to fish and just watching the world go by … 

To further assist you, the major messages we would like to convey to you at this time are:

• Share markets are volatile, but Bear markets don’t last forever
• Focus on the Medium to Long Term

In doing this it is important to:

• Rebalance using a disciplined approach 
• Access the best management firms in the world, who can add value through active fundamental stock research 
• Be well diversified

Please gain reassurance that adopting the methodology above has aided many people like you to weather and thrive through many crises since 1985, and also that the important points outlined above are the very foundations of the vast majority of the plans we have implemented with our clients.

Where to from here?

• Contact us
• Get more information about an Educational Forum for you and your friends
• Register and receive regular email updates

With the financial markets in such turmoil, you are probably worrying about the performance of your super and investments.

In times like these, staying informed is the best way of staying in control.

With this in mind, I would like to invite you to view and participate in a live, online panel discussion with MLC.

The panel will discuss what’s happening to the financial markets and how MLC manages your money to help protect and grow your long-term super or pension investments.

This will be a great opportunity for you to raise your concerns, hear what other people are saying, and ask MLC’s market experts any questions.  

Like MLC, we’re confident that over time the good returns will return.

Client webcast – Wednesday 12 November 2008 3pm to 4:30pm
This live panel discussion is client-focused and educational. It will discuss:

I wholeheartedly encourage you to register at www.mlc.com.au/marketwatch. Mark the Market Watch website as one of your internet favourites and visit regularly.

Please feel free to extend this invitation to any of your friends or family.

Where to from here?

• Contact us
• Get more information about an Educational Forum for you and your friends
• Register and receive regular email updates

Latest 6 weekly update and insights from MLC Investment Strategist, Brian Parker.

Click on the link to open a new window – “Brian Parkers Update”

From speaking with colleagues in the banking industry it is apparant that their own capacity to access capital is somewhat restricted at the moment. This in turn naturally has a flow on affect to us as customers and consumers of their services.

Brian Parker Investment Strategist from MLC has published an article, “No Guts- No Glory” in which he discusses the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to cut interest rates by a full percentage point.

I think it provides some useful insights for us all. Click on the link to be taken to a new window to read the article – “No Guts – No Glory”.

If you can put 5 minutes aside, grab a coffee, tea, other beverage of your choice and listen to Brian Parkers Market Update for September. 

My sumamry of what has been said: “We are by no means out of the woods yet and it is expected for more bad news yet to come, but there are positive signs and positive opportunities emerging.”

If you are driving through Rockhampton please stop and take the time to walk through the Kershaw Gardens.

This area once was a local landfill and rubbish dump (a waste transfer station in more modern terms).

Now it can be thought of as a tranquil area of natural beauty. This transformation didn’t happen overnight and it didn’t happen without a lot of planning, patience and discipline.

The Kershaw Gardens story is very similar to what the story of wealth creation is like – if you let it be.

(more…)

As many of you will soon be receiving your annual statement, I thought it would be a good time to position the impact of this year’s recent market events on your super.

After the strong performance of the past few years, the recent downturn means it’s likely your annual statement will show a negative return for the year.

Although it’s natural to feel alarmed when this happens, it’s important to remember that it’s normal for markets to move up and down. Therefore it’s important to have a long-term view and not look at this year’s performance in isolation.

Market volatility is normal. Since the end of World War II there have been 11 bear markets (i.e. where the market* has fallen by around 20% or more).

Despite this, the market is 20 times higher today (excluding dividends) than it was post World War II, which shows the good years have more than made up for the bad.

The same trend is likely to be true for your super returns over the long term, so at this point there’s no need to be unduly concerned about your fund’s performance.

However if your circumstances have changed, or if you do have concerns you would like to discuss, please call me on 07 49 237 142.
 

* The Australian sharemarket (as represented by ASX All ordinaries Price Index (1980-2008) and Sydney All Ordinaries Price Index (1945- 1980))

Did you know that investing in Super can give you up-front tax advantages while building your future wealth?

Depending on where you are and what time of the day it is, grad a coldie or a warm cuppa and listen to the webinar presented by Andrew Lawless, Technical Services Manager, MLC.

Andrew will present in under 9 minutes an insightful presentation targeted at parents with dependent children.

Pay less tax now, have more money later !!

And if you think you or any of your friends or family members would benefit from more personalised advice and discussion of this topic, please make or alternately encourage them to make, contact with us.

I would like to provide you with an update on some recent developments in global sharemarkets. There has been volatility in recent times which is likely to continue, however it is very important at times like this to remain focussed on the long term (assuming that long term is the appropriate time frame for you), the achievement of your goals and objectives and to understand that volatility is a natural characteristic of the sharemarket.

History shows us two key learnings – the sharemarket does recover after experiencing declines and it is important to “ride out” the volatility. (more…)