Suggested portfolio for around $1000 000?

Using the 6 year rule for cgt?

 

On the IP?

 

Did you live in it before renting it out?

 

On anything

 

Hey there @MTR Thanks. I've appreciated all your avatars! Cheers.

 

Have you considered a fund like Samuel Terry?

Samuel Terry - Asset Management

At least these guys have the runs on the board to charge 1.5% in management fees + a performance fee above benchmark (RBA + 2% I think it is)... they have done 15.1% p.a. AFTER fees since November 2013 - page 4 in this document - http://www.samuelterry.com.au/pdf-summary/STAR_presentation_$Aterms_Oct2017.pdf

If I am going to pay someone to manage my money, they better have a damn good track record of outperforming the index before I start paying them 1% or more.

 

That's interesting. They hold 32 per cent in Kangaroo Island plantation timbers.

 

Y-man is indeed wise. The answers you get here will tend to focus mainly on past investment performance and 'those darn rip off' fees everywhere you look although I do agree that portfolio recommendation looked a little over-engineered. For starters (as I have said elsewhere) using the past performance of 'Brand name X' fund is often meaningless and a terrible basis for decisions, how do you know the key manager hasn't left recently or they just had a lucky streak? Long term performance stats are a little more useful guide but only if they are for individual managers, not brand names.

Focus should be on the big picture strategy, cash flow details and how easiest to manage it on 'auto-pilot', risk management, quality portfolio construction, estate plan to protect each other, reviewing the assets and how often to make changes if at all etc. Most of all be aware of the classic trap of trying to go-it alone to 'save money in fees' and ending up stressed about all sorts of things including the various risks, complexity of rules (especially around Super), fluctuations in asset values, administration, management, complicated paperwork and decision making throughout retirement plus most likely ending up with less benefits than if you had the right kind of help.

Yes the investment is an important component but what you really should focus on is maximising all facets of a full retirement strategy and that is something entirely different to just 'buying an investment' or product which is really just one piece of the answer you need to get the most out of your situation and protect your risks properly.

 

I could not disagree more. Past performance is the best indicator of future performance. If someone has a track record of outperforming the index, especially over a long period of time, then there is a high probability they will continue to do so.

Would you say you're biased being a financial planner with vested interests?

Have you managed to outperform the index over the last 10 years, Alex?

 

A little unfair I feel.

The value in using an excellent independent advisor is not so much about selecting this or that fund / share but in providing an overall plan including debt recycling, insurance, tax minimisation, risk management, structuring, Super, behaviour issues, Estate planning etc.

Some of us here who enjoy researching such things forget about the majority who just don’t have the time / interest to devote to this.

My interaction with @Alex Straker has me convinced he is very passionate in what he does and is genuine in helping others rather than posting here purely to build business.

I look forward to interacting with him further in the future but recent events and issues at the moment are quite a drain on my energy.

And from what I’ve seen his investing (and trading) skills are very much high end professional.

Not all advisors are evil.

 

@pwnitat0r Hello again, I recognise you from the debt recycling thread one of my clients bravely started to share her personal story and you immediately accused me of making false posts. Nice to see you again.

I'm not sure you understood what I meant, it seems you are in heated agreement with this part of my post "Long term performance stats are a little more useful guide but only if they are for individual managers, not brand names." I understand what you are saying that good money managers/stock pickers ARE worth chasing and agree with that. The point of what I was saying being that fund 'brand names' can be deceptive in terms of past performance as they don't account for changes in the actual money managers.

Regarding your statement "Past performance is the best indicator of future performance" I suggest you read your product PDS and I think you will find it says something different.

Vested interests in what? I get paid exactly zero dollars and zero kickbacks for any investment I recommend.

As for my track record....

Firstly I am not a fund manager and none of my clients use an MDA so to be clear I don't manage ANY client portfolios, would hate to have that stress TBH. Naturally the track records of the various managers I happen to use are exceptional in their own right, and if the goal is purely looking for outperformance of a benchmark there are multiple examples of excellent managers that have outperformed the ASX200 index consistently over long term periods (since inception in many cases) on rolling average basis of 3 - 8%. Some more than this, but at unsustainable rates of outperformance in my view.

Secondly, I publicly call a fair bit of what I am personally doing in the markets in advance on this forum plus give exact price and time for entries and often exits also. Every post is time stamped, you are welcome to go check out the results for yourself.

 

Most advisors charge too much and add no value. It was a well known "scam" that advisors received trailing commissions from certain managed funds. Putting it in the fine print on page 138 of a pds does not count as disclosure. How can that be the best way to guarantee performance for a client?

Advisors should be paid a fixed fee, based on the complexity of the client's requirements, regardless of amount invested. I think it is also fair to have a performance fee, but when a client loses money the advisor should also be willing to refund fees.

Alex seems to have some good information for readers on this forum. I know nothing of his fee structure so I can't comment anymore.

All I can say is the effort to learn about investing is going to be a lot more valuable than paying someone else to think and learn for you. I only regret not learning earlier.

 

Agree with most of this, the roots of my industry are not pretty and I don't deny it. Thankfully since around 2000 things have gotten cleaned up a lot. Banning commissions and best interest duty legislation has ****** out a lot of the riff raff and FP is becoming a university qualification going forward. Just for the record my policy has been 'Fee for service' ever since opening the doors of the business and it would not matter if you are a $10k assets client or $10M assets, same work = same fee. I also have 0% / 0 dollars fees coming from client investments. Doesn't make sense to skim a fee from the very thing that should solely benefit the client for retirement plus the damage to compounding effect can be substantial as you guys are well aware.

 

Another interesting thread I was re-reading, along with your other thread in the Investment Strategies forum.
@Butterfly88 just wondering how you're getting on. It's always great to understand what decisions people made.

 

Thanks @Mac Fields for reminding us of this thread.

Re-reading my post it may have seemed a bit harsh but it was not aimed at @Alex Straker; rather the finance industry as a whole, whom I liken to a relentless hoard of greedy pigs at a trough. Except pigs stop eating when they are full.

Trust is something earned and I have read Alex's posts over the past 6 months and come to believe he is very knowledgeable and shares said knowledge freely on this forum, which I respect. If I was to change my mind and seek the services of an advisor Alex would be the first person I call to discuss his fee structure.

Everyone needs to have their finances in order, either by learning themselves or paying someone they can trust. Most people speculate, get ripped off on fees, and just generally make way too many mistakes to ever have a nest egg. Remember, it's in our interest to have more self sufficient people in society who add value and fund their own retirement.

 

Thanks @Mac Fields for bringing this thread back alive! There are so many interesting posts in this one thread.

@Nodrog although I've seen so many great posts of yours. This one certainly stands out for me; if I'm the OP, I would be sending 0.1% (10% of management fees quoted by the FA) out your way

 

Thank you. However I personally didn’t think I added much value in that post. Glad you found it useful though. Gotta wonder what goes through some advisor’s heads though. Just because they’re investing on a platform doesn’t mean they need to put a client into a heap of different funds with a few percent in each. So many funds will struggle to outperform a few well selected index funds! I suppose it makes them seem clever and indispenciple?

This stuff is not rocket science. The hardest part is behavioural and simply sticking to the plan through thick and thin.

 

The key to the advisor business model is making it seem like rocket science. Hard to clip 1% when you put someone in a 3-4 fund portfolio!

 

Someone would be crazy to pay a funds under management fee, especially 1%, but it seems to happen a lot.

 

I suppose it comes down to what they advise, the reasoning behind why they advise this and why their recommendations would do better than an simple buy and hold approach (and the reasoning can be based on historical information, yes I know the blah blah, but I would never be looking for options that have only been around 5 minutes).

I'm about to dive into this - I'm not sure if me or them will feel more pain - I'll have some pretty targeted questions.