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Welcome to Bruce Brammall Financial

“Talking about death and money can be tricky. How do you bring up the subject of estate planning and who gets what in the will?”

Don’t fret. Learn to throw your voice like a ventriloquist and then, at the reading of the will, pretend to be God and declare everything was left to you. If you don’t think you could pull that off, listen up. The “normal” thing to happen when someone dies is to leave everything to your partner, […]

Now industry funds target SMSFs

PORTFOLIO POINT: SMSF trustees don’t have time to relax. They might need to take up arms against industry super funds next. The constant battles faced by trustees to protect SMSFs and their investment sphere must be getting exhausting for everyone. Earlier this year it was lobbying to keep imputation funds from being scrapped. A few […]

“”Risk and investing go hand in hand. How can people work out what sort of risks they are prepared to take in the pursuit of wealth?”

Who are you more like? Actor Rob Lowe, a pioneer of celebrity sex tapes? Or Pretty In Pink’s Molly Ringwald, who moved to France to marry a Frenchman? Both risks were career suicide, though they didn’t know it at the time. Rob’s underage ménage-a-trois video cost him a decade. And has anyone found Molly yet? […]

Mortgage brokers’ qualified success

Every now and then you just want to applaud a gutsy move. Someone who does something against their own interests in the name of helping someone else. Examples would include Mel Gibson helping buddy Danny Glover off a booby-trapped dunny in Lethal Weapon 2 and the late Patrick Swayze taking on the job of cleaning […]

“Managed funds have had a tough couple of years as global markets tumbled. Do they still have a place for investors, and what is it?”

You want a tough couple of years? When Cold Chisel split – that was a tough decade for an 80s Australian teenager. The rough patch for managed funds only reflects the difficulty in all investment markets. It hasn’t been a bed of roses for anyone in direct equities or property anywhere on the planet. Managed […]

Keeping a step ahead of super tinkering

PORTFOLIO POINT: Super contribution and pension strategies are going to need constant tinkering to stay one step ahead of Rudd Government legislation changes. Considered research continues to highlight the difficulties being encountered by Australians trying to work within the new contribution rules to provide for their retirement following the Rudd Government’s halving of the concessional […]

Government incentives for first home buyers will be watered down from the end of this month. What does it all mean for property investors?

Woo-hoo! The end of the “boost” portion of the first home buyers’ grants can’t come soon enough. Like the last mouthful of an unpleasant dinner when you know there’s a great dessert to come. Cash incentives to buy are a false economy for home buyers – they will pay more for their property. Therefore, the […]

“Interest rates are set to start rising, some say sooner rather than later. How should people respond to this?”

Ford Prefect from Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy said it best: “Don’t panic! Don’t panic!” Household debt levels tend to rise through your 20s and 30s – home, investment and business loans, plus lifestyle debt – then peak in your 40s before debt is reduced going into retirement. Therefore, rising interest rates will disproportionately negatively […]

The truth about DIY super and property

PORTFOLIO POINT: Residential property and your SMSF … today, we sort out a few misconceptions. There must be a great sociological explanation for Australians love of dirt, bricks and mortar. But I’ve not yet heard it. In unequal parts, it’s about security, because we understand property as an asset class, it’s less volatile than shares […]

“Australia has so far avoided a recession. What does this mean, and does it really matter if we have a recession or not?”

If you’ve ever been on one of those Hollywood-hippy, vitamin-enriched, strict fruit and vegetable juice diets, then you’ll know why Australia could do with a recession. For the rest of you Gen Xers (including me – no way I’d drink that gunk), think about an ocean swim with a hangover. It’s about cleansing. A recession […]