I recall the great gold boom of the early 1980s. Like all booms, it started slowly but then built itself into the usual juggernaut that no one wants to stop riding. I actually have vivid memories of watching news footage showing people lining up to sell gold in all possible forms, not just gold bullion. Some people were actually willing to remove gold fillings from their teeth; such was the value the metal attained.

Recently, I was looking at some performance comparisons for various superannuation funds. Yes I know, paint drying has greater appeal! But it sure is a good idea for you to keep your eye on these tables as a part of your retirement planning. Not only to see how your fund performs compared to others but it also helps to guard against making contributions to a ‘dog’ of a fund for ten years be- fore you suddenly realise it.

Start turning your ordinary-annuation into superannuation

Superannuation has certainly evolved over the years into what it is today. Having been around for a lot of this evolution I can assure you there have been some shocking incarnations. For example, back in the 70’s and 80’s, only 20% of the workforce was in any form of super – mostly Government employees, who were given a pension for life no doubt as a trade-off for 40 years of boredom!

Educating financial advisers, what will they think of next!

There was some good news last week for anyone looking at getting financial advice in the future. The government has finally introduced a bill into parliament regulating the minimum level of edu- cational qualifications needed to become a financial adviser. It seems they have finally seen the light, no doubt as a result of all the recent industry ‘kerfuffle’, and ensured that practitioners must now obtain the educational levels required of other professions.

Today I am fortunate enough to be featured in the weekly ‘Making A Difference (MAD) series as seen on Canadian Budget Binder. If you haven’t visited Mr CBB yet, do yourself a favour and go and have a look. It is an absolute treasure trove of information and well worth the visit. I am certainly a regular visitor.

When considering the services of a financial planner, a lot of people like to put ‘independence’ near the top of the ‘what they need to have’ list. And rightly so, as common sense would suggest that developing a personal financial strategy is far more ‘client-centric’ without the shackles of a large institution.

Wow, how about that, Donald Trump is the President of the USA. Who would have thought an ex- reality TV star and bankrupt, with a litany of pending court cases and questionable morals, could achieve the most powerful position in the western world. But I guess it goes to show that anything is possible.

A guide for all your personal insurance needs.

An often overlooked area of the family finances is that of personal insurance. Although not a topic that fills people with excitement, it’s an incredibly important issue and deserves a genuine discussion within every household.

Evaluating a potential share for inclusion into a portfolio can certainly be accomplished innumer- able ways. From the highly advanced methods of a professional ‘quant’ fund manager, right down to using a dart as the main selection tool, every investor will have their preferred method. Most cer- tainly though careful analysis of each equity is required to create a portfolio that abides by our per- sonal tolerance for risk. That is, the fluctuations and gyrations of our investments should not cause us to suddenly hyperventilate, throw down 4 shots of Pepe Lopez in quick succession, and then pro- ceed to run through the streets screaming ‘sell everything’!