Noel Whittaker's Blog
By Noel Whittaker
I recently received an email pointing out that I often recommend interest-only loans for investment, and asking what the purpose of the strategy is. In the reader’s view, it seemed futile to take out a loan that you would never pay back. The purpose of using an interest-only loan is to minimise your monthly interest …
I continue to receive questions about using contributions to superannuation to reduce capital gains tax. The following is typical. “We have an investment property in joint names that we would like sell in a few years to fund our retirement. The capital gain should be approximately $250,000 and we are keen to consider strategies to …
Once again stock markets are bouncing around. The optimists see it as an opportunity to buy – the pessimists reckon we are on the brink of another big crash. Yes, owning shares can get a bit scary, but anybody investing in shares must understand that volatility is the price we pay for liquidity. Only shares …
It’s been another volatile week in world stock markets – caused mainly by the American Federal Reserve continuing its policy of increasing interest rates. This has caused a rout in the bond market, which has somehow led to a fall in the share market, with the papers claiming that investors are fleeing to the safety …
It’s 10 years since the GFC hit. Today let’s reflect on the lessons we have learned from the biggest crisis in most of our lifetimes. You may be surprised to learn that the interest rates in Australia were on the rise in early 2008, with the Reserve Bank raising interest rates twice in February and …