Is This You?

By most measures, you’re doing pretty well.

You either have a successful career, as a professional or business executive, your own growing and vibrant business and/or are independently wealthy.

You set and achieve high standards for yourself.

But you feel that your personal financial affairs may not be as well positioned and as organised as other aspects of your life. You are not driven by money for the sake of it, but “money related” issues on your mind may include:
Click Here To Read More

This Time it’s Different

These words are often referred to as the four most dangerous words in investing. They are often uttered at the peak of bull markets but what about their application with respect to bear markets?

While every market cycle differs in terms of the specifics of the situation, the underlying influences can have similarities. A well-cited study performed by two finance professors from the University of Chicago found that financial markets are always vulnerable to what they called a liquidity shock — a sudden tightening of credit. These liquidity shocks have happened before and are likely to happen again. The 1991 recession is a recent example of a liquidity shock, where lenders shifted suddenly from easy credit standards to extremely tight credit standards.
Click Here To Read More

Property Investing – Listed or Unlisted?

Pdf Version – Property Investing – Listed or Unlisted

The Government’s plan to provide a rescue package to help the ailing commercial property sector has sent shivers down the spines of many investors. The package is driven by the fear of property trusts being unable to refinance their short term debt. Most notably, the probability of refinance by foreign lenders, who are coping with their own problems at home, is considered to be quite low.

The implications of not being able to obtain funding (i.e. re-financing) are that property assets may have to be sold in a short period of time. This is likely to result in ‘fire sale’ prices for those forced to sell. The concern for those not forced to sell is that these sales are likely to drive down the valuations of all properties which may trigger covenant breaches on existing loans that are not due for re-finance. It may also have an impact of the value of residential property as both commercial and residential property markets, while different, are based on the valuation of land. This would then affect the banks and the wider community.

But would this be such a dilemma if the properties were valued at their current market sale price?
Click Here To Read More