Market Movements & Economic Review – May 2024

May 1, 2024
Stay up to date with what’s happened in markets and the Australian economy over the past month. As eyes turn to the 2024-25 Federal Budget, stronger-than-expected domestic inflation was recorded for April. The markets have been subdued due to geopolitical instability and uncertainty around cash rates both in Australia and the US. The S&P/ASX 200…

The scoop on resources for EOFY and how it can help your super

May 1, 2024
Our good friends at MLC have provided a plethora of useful End of Financial Year (EOFY) resources to help educate and arm you with all of the important ‘in the know’ things that can help you leading up to 30 June. This blog post will provide you with: Whilst these resources are extremely helpful, we…

The art of refinancing

May 1, 2024
Refinancing your home loan has the potential to save you thousands, reduce your monthly repayments and free up your finances to achieve your goals. However, mastering the art of refinancing requires strategic planning, an understanding of the process and taking numerous considerations into account. Whether you plan on external or internal refinancing, here’s what to…

Caught in the middle: help for the sandwich generation

May 1, 2024
If you are feeling a bit like the meat in the sandwich you are not alone. The ‘sandwich generation’ is a growing social phenomenon that impacts people from all walks of life, describing those at a stage of their lives where they are caring for their offspring as well as their elderly parents. The phenomenon…

What’s all the noise about loud budgeting?

May 1, 2024
Loud budgeting is a trend that may have started as a joke but is being embraced by those who want to share their financial goals and priorities and in doing so, also improve their chances of achieving them. It was comedian and writer Lukas Battle who brought the term “loud budgeting” to the world in…

Living your best life in retirement

May 1, 2024
If you’re nearing retirement age, it’s likely you’re wondering if you will have enough saved to give up work and take it easy, particularly as cost-of-living increases hit some of the basic expenses such as energy, insurance, food and health costs. Fortunately, someone has already worked out what you might need. The Association of Superannuation…

Advisers shoulder massive wealth transfer – Financial Standard

April 29, 2024
Our very own Hugh Robertson was invited to chat with Karren Vergara from Financial Standard Magazine to talk about the huge responsibility Financial Advisers have in helping clients navigate the world of Intergenerational Wealth Transfers. Whilst Centaur Financial Services has recorded an episode of the PODCAST on this topic (click here to view), Hugh talks…

the PODCAST – Super & Tax Changes + EOFY Tips | Episode 13

April 16, 2024
Centaur Financial Services is delighted to share with you our most recent PODCAST – touching on all of the most recent and upcoming changes including EOFY tips and tricks to ensure you stay ahead of the super and tax game. You can catch the latest episode on Spotify or YouTube. This new episode has our…

Market Movements and Economic Review | April 2024

April 5, 2024
Stay up to date with what’s happened in markets and the Australian economy over the past month. Expectations of interest rate cuts later this year in Australia and the United States fuelled activity in the markets last month. Australian shares reached a new record high at the end of the month, driven by mining shares…

New Increased Super Contribution Caps

April 2, 2024
As the end of financial year gets closer, some investors are thinking about the most effective ways to boost their super balance, particularly with an increase in the caps on contributions from 1 July. The concessional contributions cap, which is the maximum in before-tax contributions you can add to your super each year without paying…

Markets love certainty, but what happens next?

April 2, 2024
Financial markets can be like finely tuned racehorses, poised to gallop ahead under ideal conditions but often highly reactive to unexpected events. It’s often said that the markets love certainty. Investors feel more confident when economic conditions are stable and predictable. But certainty in financial conditions is never a sure thing. Uncertainty is always just…

Being informed is the key to avoiding scams

April 2, 2024
While it seems we all like to think we are clever enough to outwit a scam, Australians collectively lost more than 480 million to scams last year. Every year scammers get more sophisticated in the methods they use to part us with our money – or our valuable personal information. It’s important to recognise that…

Dive into deep focus to unlock your true potential

April 2, 2024
Phone buzzing, emails constantly popping up, ongoing chats with colleagues, responding to meeting invites and all the while trying to work on that report. Sound familiar? While we’ve all become reasonably proficient at multitasking in this digital age, numerous commentators are pointing to the toll the constant distractions are having on our productivity and the…

An SMSF loan costs more than you think

April 2, 2024
Loaning money from an SMSF to fund members or relatives is against the super laws and can land trustees with big fines, so it’s important to know the rules and not use SMSF savings for anything other than retirement purposes. New ATO estimates show that, in 2020 and 2021, SMSF trustees entered into more than…

Market Movements and Economic Review | March 2024

March 1, 2024
Stay up to date with what’s happened in markets and the Australian economy over the past month. The economic indicators for February were mixed. Inflation has remained at a two-year low, giving confidence of a possible rate cut in coming months, and business capital investment rose in the December quarter. However, the Australian dollar remained…

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