Protect Your Wealth
While all investors want to see their assets grow, capital preservation and risk management take on extra importance when you reach a certain level of wealth or stage of life. Concerns such as maintaining your standard of living, providing for your family, generating income with minimal tax consequences and safeguarding your wealth against unexpected events then take centre stage. With access to extensive resources and specific expertise, your Retirewell financial adviser can help with all these issues – and others that may arise. Our services include:
Asset Allocation
Asset allocation has been shown repeatedly to be the most important single determinant of return and risk. Choosing the right mix of asset classes also can reduce portfolio volatility significantly. Your Retirewell financial adviser will make asset allocation a key component of your investment strategy, selecting a mix of asset classes that reflects your specific financial objectives, time horizon and tolerance for risk.
We’ve all heard the saying, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” This is particularly true for investing. By dividing your investments among four basic categories – cash/fixed interest, property/infrastructure, shares and alternative assets (such as absolute return, private equity and hedge funds) – you can help preserve capital, increase liquidity and decrease volatility.
Asset allocation doesn’t eliminate risk, but it can reduce your exposure to extreme highs and lows in performance. That means choosing the right asset allocation is one of the most important decisions you can make.
The Retirewell Investment Committee, which consists of the two senior advisers, considers current economic and market conditions and national and international events – taking into account research from three independent research firms - to develop recommendations for a percentage of assets in each of the seven investment categories in model portfolios.
These recommendations are useful as a basis for comparison when developing and adjusting the asset allocations of individual portfolios through our Ongoing Asset Care Service.
Risks, Rewards and Asset Allocation
Tax Minimisation
Wealth and taxes are inextricably linked, and erosion of net investment gains due to taxes is a real risk to sustaining wealth. Investing through tax-efficient structures such as superannuation and discretionary trusts, using tax-advantaged investments and considering the tax impact of specific transactions can have a significant effect on what you pay and what you keep. Your adviser can provide an analysis of all your investments and help you structure a portfolio that minimises the tax you need to pay.
Insurance
Insurance can play a key role in protecting your wealth and providing for the ongoing needs of your family. Your Retirewell financial adviser can determine the types and degree of insurance protection best suited to your specific requirements. Retirewell has an insurance broker’s license and can provide access to a wide range of insurance products, from life and total and permanent disability insurance, to trauma or critical care cover and income protection policies for personal or business needs. Depending on your specific situation, insurance strategies also may provide you with tax, wealth transfer or business succession benefits.
Because insurance protects you from the unexpected, it can play a crucial role in your comprehensive financial plan. Retirewell provides a wide range of quality insurance alternatives that can offer an important layer of safety for you, your family and your business.
Selecting the Right Life Insurance
In good times and in bad, you always put your family first. But what happens when you’re gone? Although choosing life insurance can be a daunting task, selecting the right policy is critical to your family’s financial well-being.
Having insufficient coverage, or worse, having no coverage at all, may be detrimental to your loved ones during a time when they need support the most.
Retirewell understands the importance of your family. And because you are our first priority, we want to help ensure the financial well-being of those you love most.
Do I Need Life Insurance?
Are others dependent upon you for financial support? If your children, spouse or other loved ones had to continue without you, would they have ample income to do so?
An essential part of financial planning, life insurance can help replace income that would be lost upon your death. It can also help ensure that dependents are not burdened with significant debt, affording them financial security in a difficult time.
How Much Life Insurance Do I Need?
Your financial adviser can assist you in determining how much insurance you may need. Some factors for consideration include:
- Immediate expenses such as hospital bills and funeral costs
- Loans which need to be repaid
- Funds for the readjustment period, enabling loved ones to move or find a job, and
- Short and long-term financial needs such as monthly bills, children’s education and retirement.
What Type of Policy Is Best for Me and My Family?
If you’re looking for protection during a specific time period at a reasonable price, consider term life insurance.
- Protection is limited to a specified and finite period of time.
- Death benefits are paid only if death occurs during the period covered by the policy.
- Coverage ceases when premiums are not paid.
- Policy costs less than other types of insurance, but provides equal protection.
Your Retirewell adviser may recommend that your insurance be held inside and/or outside superannuation, depending on premium cost and your tax and cash flow situation.