Investments - Mature Families

Would you like to pay your mortgage off early?

Your mortgage is probably one of the biggest financial commitments you have. In fact many Australians have a 20 - 30 year mortgage.

Paying of your mortgage is something most of us would like to do sooner rather than later. But when you think about retirement it becomes even more important. The fact is, Australians are living for longer which means we'll need more money for our retirement. So the more money you can invest now, the better off you'll be later on.

And paying off your mortgage early can be a tax effective strategy, as you may have more money to contribute to other investments. The interest you pay on your mortgage isn't tax deductible but the interest you pay on an investment is.

So by converting your non-deductible debt to deductible debt you can save money, while at the same time earning money on your investments. This money can then be reinvested, creating a positive cycle of building wealth.

Paying off your mortgage early won't only save you money it'll also provide you with the freedom of owning your home sooner. This gives you the peace of mind that your home will be secure for your retirement.

Want to understand your mortgage options better?

Are you trying to balance current family expenses with saving for your future?

Even though your children are starting to find their own independence, they may still rely heavily on you for financial support and security. Helping pay their university fees, buying them a car or even helping your children with their own home deposits may be some of the ways you're financially supporting them.

At this time of your life you're probably earning good money and may be close to earning maximum salary, but it's also a time when your expenses may be at their highest. You may be looking to consolidate your wealth and preserve it for the future, yet still be meeting financial commitments that seem to be competing with your goal of saving for a comfortable future retirement.

Now could be the right time in your financial journey to do a thorough review of your financial plan with us, as there may be some new solutions that could help you reach your financial goals.

By matching your portfolio with your investment needs, risk adversity and short-term commitments, you're able to get a clearer picture of where you want to be and how to get there. Managing your tax position better would be a key consideration, whether it involves the purchase or sale of an investment property, selling and switching shares or managed funds.

You may also look to reduce debt as much as possible, while increasing your contributions into super and taking advantage of the concessionaly taxed environment.

Have you reveiwed your financial plan recently?

At this time of your life, you may be looking to consolidate your wealth and preserve it for the future.

But if you haven't reviewed your financial plan for a number of years now, your existing strategy may not meet your current financial goals. The good news is there are a number of strategies available to you that may not have been relevant or available when you original plan was put in place.

A review of your financial plan at this time can make sure you're:

on track to achieve the retirement you want
structuring your debt effectively so that you can pay your mortgage in the most tax effective way
in a position to support your children if they need it, for example, with university fees or help with a deposit for a first home
protecting the wealth you've worked hard to build, while still making the most of opportunities to keep growing your wealth and
investing in a tax effective way

Is your portfolio diversified?

When you first start building an investment portfolio it can be difficult to diversify across different asset classes because you may only have one or two investments in your portfolio but as your portfolio grows, diversification becomes easier and also more important.

The key to achieving long term growth in your investment portfolio and reducing your overall risk is to diversify.

By diversifying the investments in your portfolio, you're effectively spreading your risk. You give yourself the opportunity to benefit from a range of investments that may perform differently in different market cycles.

You can diversify your portfolio at many levels across asset classes, sectors and investment manager. Diversifying across asset classes can be particularly effective especially when sharemarkets are volatile

Diversifying also means you don't have to try and guess what the best performing asset class is going to be. If you "chase" returns each year and invest in the best performing asset class from the previous year, you may end up worse off than if you stayed invested in a balanced portfolio.

There are a number of investment solutions to help you achieve your goals, including:

multi-manager funds
single manager funds
separately managed accounts (SMAs)
direct shares
other listed investments - listed companies (LICs), exchange traded funds (ETFs) and installment warrants

Want to speak to us about you

Contact us to ask us a question or make an appointment to meet with one of our advisers