Traditional indicators such as GDP, unemployment rates, and inflation measure an economy’s health and performance. Economists and policymakers commonly use these to gauge a country’s economic growth and stability.
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In recent years, people have become increasingly interested in ethical investing. Investors involved in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) ethical investing urge corporations to avoid harmful environmental practices and improve working conditions.
The Great Wealth transfer is underway, with around $3.5 trillion expected to be passed on during the next 30 years in Australia and women are set to be the major beneficiaries of this transfer.1https://www.moneymag.com.au/why-women-will-lead-the-intergenerational-wealth-transfer
Still expected to live longer than men, women may inherit three times in their lifetime – from parents, parents-in-law and husbands, meaning they have an 80 percent chance of being in sole control of their family’s finances at some point in their lives.2 https://www.afr.com/wealth/personal-finance/baby-boomers-and-their-families-ill-prepared-for-big-wealth-transfer-20231002-p5e95w
This is fantastic news for financial gender equality. Becoming the director of family wealth can be empowering provided women have the resources and confidence to make good financial decisions.
Challenges and Empowerment: Women Taking Charge of Family Finances
A survey by Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) in 2021 found that financial literacy scores had declined for both men and women since their previous survey in 2016, with women scoring lower than men in all age groups in both cases.3https://www.afr.com/wealth/personal-finance/most-australians-can-t-answer-all-of-these-five-basic-money-questions-20221130-p5c2kv
Women were also found to be more likely to opt out of receiving financial advice after the death or divorce of a partner – a time where making informed financial decisions is crucial.4https://www.afr.com/wealth/personal-finance/baby-boomers-and-their-families-ill-prepared-for-big-wealth-transfer-20231002-p5e95w
Over the past decade, the team and I have worked hard to encourage greater engagement from women in their financial affairs and we are pleased to see increasing numbers becoming more actively involved. More women are attending meetings, asking questions, owning the relationship with us, taking on the role of family CFO and playing an active role in decision making.
While this is a promising shift, there is still a large gap in financial knowledge and wellbeing between men and women.5https://www.anz.com.au/content/dam/anzcomau/documents/pdf/aboutus/esg/financial-wellbeing/financial-wellbeing-australian-women-report-march-2023.pdf?mboxid=session%235f1cc59f3f9b4c138642a9abd10dd8eb%231710111128%7CPC%235f1cc59f3f9b4c138642a9abd10dd8eb.36_0%231773354068&adobe_mc=MCMID%3D64954702081314620664266727136715856507%7CMCORGID%3D67A216D751E567B20A490D4C%2540AdobeOrg%7CTS%3D1710109268
Building Financial Confidence: Essential Steps for Women and Families
As with every client relationship, we find the crucial first step involves active engagement in the advice process. It is essential that women follow the same approach and lean into the process themselves in order to cultivate confidence and readiness for the Great Wealth Transfer.
Here are some key things that can help you become engaged with your personal and family finances. Remember, knowledge is power.
- Take an active interest wherever you can.
- Stop telling yourself it’s boring or that you aren’t capable.
- Don’t be afraid to ask questions – nothing is too stupid.
- Talk about it at the dinner table.
- Engage your children and grandchildren.
- Seek advice.
- Attend meetings and get it done.
- Read what you are signing before you sign it!
With such a large transfer of wealth headed our way, it is crucial that we overcome these barriers and prepare ourselves for the responsibilities that come with the ownership of family wealth.
View Jacqui’s website profile here or connect with her on LinkedIn here.
Closing thoughts from Jacqui
To have the impact we intend for our clients, as a team, we must continuously work on ways to manage our time effectively. I frequently engage with our team, discussing strategies to elevate our collaborative efforts while prioritising our client’s time. These principles are not limited to the workplace but can be seamlessly integrated into our daily lives, fostering a deep respect for both our time and that of our clients. I trust that this article has offered valuable insights on how you can optimise your time management each day.
Jacqui Sherlock – CEO
It is often said that ‘Time and tide wait for no one.’ Therefore, to achieve success in life, one needs to develop a deep appreciation for time.
Anyone can benefit from time management — whether in school, the office or life in general. You can realise your career goals, boost productivity, reduce stress, and experience better work-life balance by knowing how to manage your time.
In this post, we’ll talk about effective time management. We’ll discuss the importance of time management and the many benefits it provides.
Meaning of time management
Time management refers to the practice of organising and planning how you can split your time between specific tasks and objectives. Effective time management ensures you devote the appropriate amount of time to certain activities to achieve your goals for the day, week, month or year.
Individuals applying time management typically assign specific time slots to activities based on their importance or relevance. And since time is finite, the goal of time management is to make the most of one’s available time.
Importance and benefits of time management
To realise the value or importance of time management, one must be aware of the consequences of failing to use time effectively.
- Low quality work
- Mistakes or errors
- Missed deadlines
- Poor workflow
- Career stagnation
- High levels of stress
When we understand the value of time management and plan to apply it, we become more effective at work and in life. We can even transform our lives and the world around us by working toward developing effective time management skills.
Below are other benefits of time management:
- Increase in productivity
- Stress reduction
- Adequate rest and sleep
- More time and energy for leisure
- Improved focus
- High-quality work
- Good reputation in the workplace
- Finish more projects and fulfil everyday goals
- Better decision-making skills
- Increase in confidence and self-worth
Strategies to manage time effectively
If you want to know how to improve time management and implement it right away, here are some effective techniques so you can start experiencing the benefits of using your 24 hours a day wisely.
- Set objectives that are achievable and measurable.
- Prioritise tasks based on their urgency and importance.
- Learn to delegate tasks whenever possible.
- Set time limits for task completion.
- Take breaks in between task performance.
- Plan and organise your schedule.
- Eliminate non-essential, time-wasting activities.
These strategies do not require special tools or devices to implement.
What you need is the commitment and discipline to make better use of your time so you can stress less, achieve more, and live a full, well-balanced life.
View Jacqui’s website profile here or connect with her on LinkedIn here.
Closing thoughts from Jacqui
To have the impact we intend for our clients, as a team, we must continuously work on ways to manage our time effectively. I frequently engage with our team, discussing strategies to elevate our collaborative efforts while prioritising our client’s time. These principles are not limited to the workplace but can be seamlessly integrated into our daily lives, fostering a deep respect for both our time and that of our clients. I trust that this article has offered valuable insights on how you can optimise your time management each day.
Jacqui Sherlock – CEO
Original article: Feedsy
Investing, a realm filled with potential opportunities and pitfalls, demands careful consideration to navigate successfully. Each misstep along the way can serve as a valuable lesson, contributing to a more refined and robust investment strategy. Here are 20 crucial investment mistakes to be aware of, each of which plays a pivotal role in shaping a sound investment approach.
- Setting Unrealistic Expectations: Investors must maintain realistic return expectations to stay committed to their long-term goals amidst market fluctuations.
- Lack of Clear Investment Goals: Without clear long-term objectives, investors risk being swayed by short-term trends or the allure of the latest investment trends, losing sight of their primary financial ambitions.
- Inadequate Diversification: Diversification is essential for risk management, as over-relying on a single stock can significantly impact a portfolio’s overall value.
- Short-term Focus: A fixation on short-term market movements can lead to doubts about the original strategy, resulting in impulsive decisions.
- Buying High and Selling Low: Emotional reactions to market volatility often harm overall investment performance.
- Excessive Trading: Studies show that highly active traders typically underperform the broader stock market by an average of 6.5% annually.
- High Fees: Ongoing fees can significantly eat into investment returns, especially over extended periods.
- Overemphasis on Taxes: While tax strategies like tax-loss harvesting can enhance returns, making decisions solely based on tax implications may not always be beneficial.
- Infrequent Investment Reviews: Regular portfolio evaluations, preferably quarterly or annually, ensure alignment with investment goals and highlight the need for rebalancing.
- Misunderstanding Risk: Striking the right balance between too much and too little risk is crucial, as excessive risk can lead to discomfort, while insufficient risk may yield inadequate returns.
- Unawareness of Performance: Many investors are not fully aware of their investment performance. Regularly reviewing returns, accounting for fees and inflation, is vital to assess progress towards investment goals.
- Reactivity to Media: Short-term negative news can trigger fear, but it’s essential to maintain focus on the long-term trajectory.
- Ignoring Inflation: Historical inflation averages around 4% annually, which can significantly erode purchasing power over time.
- Attempted Market Timing: Trying to perfectly time the market is exceptionally challenging and often less profitable than remaining consistently invested.
- Insufficient Due Diligence: Verifying an advisor’s credentials using online resources to review their history and any complaints is critical.
- Incompatible Financial Advisor: Finding an advisor whose strategies align with one’s goals is crucial for a successful partnership.
- Emotion-Driven Investing: Maintaining rationality during market fluctuations is essential to avoid emotional decision-making.
- Chasing High Yields: High-yield investments often come with higher risks. It’s important to align investments with one’s risk tolerance.
- Delaying Investment: Starting to invest early can lead to greater potential returns, as exemplified by comparing the outcomes of investing $200 monthly from different starting ages.
- Not Controlling the Controllable: While market trends are unpredictable, investors can manage their contributions, leading to significant outcomes over time.
To avoid these common pitfalls, investors should seek financial advice, prioritise rational decision-making, and focus on long-term objectives. Financial goals, current income, spending habits, market conditions, and expected returns should guide portfolio construction. This approach helps investors steer clear of short-term market volatility and underscores the importance of consistent, long-term investments in wealth accumulation.
Designing and managing your investment portfolio can be complex; with our experience and understanding, we can help tailor an overall investment plan to suit your long-term goals. Reach out to our financial advice team for strategic investment advice here.
This information does not take into account the objectives, financial situation or needs of any person. Before making a decision, you should consider whether it is appropriate in light of your particular objectives, financial situation or needs.
(Feedsy Exclusive)
We all know them. The people who seem to know everyone and effortlessly make connections within their network. Let’s talk about a superpower we all can develop – being a connector.
This article will help to ease some fears about market volatility and outline a behavioural approach to address emotional decision-making. Hopefully, this information will assuage fears that many investors have experienced over the past several months.
The investment technique known as ethical investing prioritises the investor’s moral, religious and social ideals over financial gain. This is because a growing number of investors have begun to demand social responsibility from the companies they invest in, primarily because of the rise in dubious and unlawful investment arrangements.
In today’s society, the notion of wealth extends beyond financial resources. As individuals seek a more balanced and fulfilling life, the concept of wealth has evolved to encompass various factors such as education, healthcare, job satisfaction, and social connections. This article explores the changing perception of wealth in contemporary Australia and highlights the importance of holistic well-being in defining prosperity.
The thought of retirement is an enticing one for many of us. Imagine throwing off the shackles of the workforce and being able to do whatever you want, whenever you want. But why wait until you are retired to do the things you love?
Retirement is a time where we finally have the space to do what we want to do with our lives, whether that’s travel, developing and learning new skills, taking up hobbies or just enjoying the company of those we care about.
The problem with waiting until we are retired is we are postponing engaging in things that could be making us happy right now. Exploring what gives us joy now and developing those skills will make for a much easier transition as you wave goodbye to your working years.
Something to retire to
Retirement represents a big shift in the way we live our lives and it’s not uncommon for that adjustment to be a little challenging. For many, our jobs give us a profound sense of identity and define how we perceive ourselves, so our sense of self can suffer when we leave the workforce. There is also often a gap in our lives where work used to be.
That’s why rather than looking forward to retiring from something, ‘have something to retire to’ is a common piece of advice to encourage people to think about what they want their life to look like when they leave the workforce.
Think about what defines you now and satisfies you outside of work, and putting in place a plan of how that may play out in retirement can be a good idea.
Start today to do the things you love
While it can be hard to carve out time while you are still in the workforce, it’s possible to take small steps and set aside dedicated time each week or commit to activities that won’t take a lot of your time.
If you are keen to travel when you retire, consider signing up for a short course in the language of the country you are keen on visiting to get prepared for the trip of your dreams.
Or if you want to finally write that novel you’ve been mulling over for years, set aside a little time now to draft a framework and get a head start. Who knows by the time you retire you may be on your second novel!
Keen to do more exercise? Join a gym now and get into a routine – even if you only manage to get there a couple of times a week it’s a good start.
It takes a while to develop new habits and skills so starting to pick up the things you want to explore in retirement now sets you up for a smoother transition when you have more time to devote to these activities. Starting now also gives you a chance to try things out and see if they are something you want to commit time and energy to.
Fostering connections with those you care about
While spending time doing things you love makes for a happy and satisfying retirement, another important factor is being around people you enjoy being with.
Think about the people you enjoy spending time with and foster those friendships right now. Not only will it make for an easier transition when you retire, it will also bring you joy and the benefits of those relationships right now. There is always room in your life for making new friends too!
The best laid plans can change
It’s important to be open-minded in your plan of how you see your retirement unfolding. Remember that not everyone retires on their own terms. Some need to retire sooner than expected or in a different manner than expected due to ill health, caring for a family member or because of a decision or situation in the workplace.
On that basis, it’s important to live well now – enjoy your present life and embrace the things that make you happy as you’ll also be setting yourself up to enjoy retirement – whether it’s just around the corner or still a way off.
Let’s discuss how you can plan for your ideal retirement, reach out to the Sherlock Wealth team here.
Andrew Sherlock is the Owner & Head of Advice at Sherlock Wealth.
A Sydney-based financial planning firm, Sherlock Wealth has been helping successful families, business owners and individuals with their wealth creation and wealth protection needs for more than two generations.
A Chartered Accountant with a background in funds management, Andrew’s career spans more than 30 years. Andrew was one of the first people in Australia to obtain the Self-Managed Superannuation Specialist accreditation and is one of only a few advisers in Australia to be a Certified Investment Management Analyst. He is a lifetime member of the international MDRT Top of the Table and holds a BA Economics degree from Macquarie University with majors in accounting and finance.
Helping clients achieve their lifestyle goals through smart investing and asset management, wealth structures, and strategic planning are the cornerstones of what Andrew and the team at Sherlock Wealth provide.
Andrew can also be contacted at ask@sherlockwealth.com.
