Click here for a short video message from PATRON Financial Advice on how we can help.

To find out more, please feel free to email Robert McCann or call 1300 784 448.

Cummins, who started with PATRON in late August 2011 will be in charge of recruiting financial planners and risk advisers, and promoting PATRON in Victoria.

She will also oversee planners practice management support and professional development in the southern state.

Cummins joined the financial services industry more than 18 years ago and has held senior positions in AFS over the past 4 years.

PATRON was established in 2007 and has 50 advice businesses located in NSW and the ACT.

For the cost of less than 1 full time staff member, let us;

1.  Manage all your SOA’s.
2.  Take over all due diligence on getting applications completed.
3.  Structure your soft copy files that show a complying paper trail.
4.  Set up and manage your review process.
5.  Be the first port of call for all your client issues.

David Robertson – Adviser: “I have been using PATRON Adviser Solutions for my back office since the beginning and the support I receive in getting business completed and dealing with client enquiries has been extraordinary. Importantly, PATRON Adviser Solutions also ensures my business compliance is completely maintained. This has allowed me to focus on the important aspects of my business, speaking with clients and prospects, rather than being bogged down by administration issues.”

• Economic Update_Oct 2011
• Economic Update_July 2011

The new financial year is a perfect time to make some resolutions to improve your financial health. If you create simple and easy-to-follow resolutions you will be more likely to succeed. To start, you can ask yourself the following questions:

• What do I really want to change?

• What are the benefits of making changes?

• What steps do I need to take to make changes?

• What will stop me from making positive changes?

• Are my changes realistic and long term?

This article lists some simple, easy-to implement resolutions you could take on for the new financial year.

Keep your receipts

The most common reason people don’t take advantage of tax deductions when they file their tax return is simply because they don’t keep receipts. While keeping receipts for big ticket items is necessary, you don’t always need a receipt for the smaller items such as stationery and books.

Create a budget

Achieving your financial goals doesn’t have to be daunting; a good way to start is with a budget. Try to keep a diary for your expenses and your spending. This will enable you to track where your money is going and how much spare cash you can use to either attack your debt or build investments.

Cut your spending

Look at cutting unnecessary expenses. This could be as easy as making your lunch or coffee at home, cutting out optional extras such as lottery tickets or taking public transport instead of driving.

Pay extra

Try paying more than the minimum off your debts. Whether it’s personal loans or credit cards, paying the minimum will hardly make a dent as you will only be paying off the interest.

Increase your savings

Set aside a little bit of extra money each day, week or month. If you can save just $10 a day, you will have an extra $3,650 at the end of the year. You can talk to your employer about getting it automatically deducted from your pay – if you don’t see it you are less likely to miss it.

Contribute to your super

Think of the long term and your lifestyle when you retire. One way to increase your retirement savings is through  salary sacrificing some of your pre-tax salary. This will not only help to increase your super savings but could also reduce the amount of tax you pay.

Seek professional advice

Your financial adviser will help you keep to your resolutions and make sure your financial strategy is appropriate for the year ahead.

Is it a good idea to add calculator tools that people use regularly to the website, or as links on this blog? e.g. tax calculators, mortgage calculators, present value of future income stream calcs, etc.

Has anyone got some they care to add?

It can be hard to predict the economic impact after a disaster. Often the first reaction is a sharp drop in the stock market. This can be a lasting downturn but sometimes it can recover quickly. When Hurricane Katrina hit the US in 2005 for example, the Dow Jones Industrial Average recovered in less than ten days. But the previous two hurricanes created lasting drops in the stock market.

When China’s Sichuan Province was hit by a huge earthquake in May 2008, the devastation was monumental, but the Chinese government say it ultimately helped their economy. Within a month of the quake, a massive rebuilding effort was underway and billions of dollars were pumped into the Chinese economy. This boosted the national economic growth by 0.3 percent during the period. This was particularly significant given that it was during the depth of the Global Financial Crisis (1).

Since the economic effects of a disaster can vary significantly, they’re not often well-captured by the simple headlines provided by the media. It’s important to delve a little deeper to properly understand the various impacts of a disaster and how they flow through the economy.

Direct damage

The loss of life is undisputedly the hardest part of any disaster. As people search for survivors, or even attempt to make areas safe, there is often a huge expenditure needed for relief and emergency response.

The second direct economic impact is the destruction. This is often the focus in mainstream media as they show horrific images of residential and business areas which have been hit by the disaster. There are substantial economic consequences in rebuilding these areas, but also in replacing finished and semi-finished goods, raw materials and spare parts.

An example of the massive cost of direct damage is in the recent Queensland floods, the Queensland State Government’s 2010-11 Mid Year Fiscal and Economic Review, has estimated that the cost of rebuilding public infrastructure will be $5 billion over 3 years (2).

(1) Source: Boston Globe, How disasters help, by Drake Bennett, July 6, 2008
(2) Source: Queensland State Budget 2010-11 – Mid Year Fiscal and Economic Review – www.treasury.qld.gov.au

Indirect damages

Goods and services that will not be produced because of a disaster can have a significant negative economic effect. It can take a lot of time to fix machinery and source new materials. Cost can increase even more if there is a need to use alternative means of production or distribution. As delays impact exporting, losses in revenue can impact international market shares.

One way disaster affected areas can mitigate this loss of income is to focus on sectors which were not as affected. For example, when Jamaica was hit by Hurricane Gilbert, instead of focusing on the decimated agricultural industry they rebuilt hotels. Within three months they had recovered the tourism industry and had minimised the loss of market share.

Secondary effects

Disasters can interrupt a country’s economy as a whole. Demand for building material, food and energy increases, at the same time as supply is restricted due to damaged infrastructure. This can cause spikes in inflation. Often, rebuilding efforts result in a shortage of skilled labour which forces wages to increase. This also impacts inflation.

Local and federal government finances often receive a double hit. Reduced economic activity results in lower tax revenues at the same time as they need to massively increase expenditure on infrastructure and disaster relief. These effects can be felt over a number of years as few governments budget for the unknown.

How might this affect your investments?

Many of the impacts of a disaster can have direct influence on your investment portfolio or superannuation. This is especially evident if you opt into a global share investment option or choose to own direct shares.

Another impact which can seem less obvious, but can have a huge impact on your day-to-day life, is the effect on commodity prices. An example of this is when petrol prices increased significantly in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

The bottom line

Disasters can be heartbreaking and have a horrific impact. But when looking at the economic impact, there is a danger in automatically predicting doom and gloom, as the media is fond of doing.

When a disaster occurs, there will undoubtedly be a negative economic impact, but how long this lasts and how it effects your investments will depend on a large number of factors. Ultimately, rebuilding after the disaster will result in growth. It is best to assess the situation with your financial adviser to find the solution which suits your needs.

Many of the impacts of a disaster can have direct influence on your investment portfolio or superannuation.

In March 2011 PATRON Financial Advice held their annual conference in Hobart, Tasmania. It is tradition at the PATRON conferences that during the event, we appoint a Sergeant at Arms and create some additional fun by fining delegates and raising money for charity.

In past years money has gone to a local orphanage in Bangkok, and last year to Achieve Australia to assist people with disabilities.

In 2011 we were all captivated by the work the Humpty Dumpty Foundation Limited does for Children’s Hospital wards in much needed medical equipment. The aim was to raise $3,585 to purchase an Air Oxygen Blender predominantly through our Sergeant at Arms but also via a charity auction at our gala dinner. A number of fund managers and life companies donated prizes for a silent auction through the course of the conference and a live auction for a number of items on the final night.

The result was truly amazing and we were able to raise $10,000.

On Monday 4th April PATRON Financial Advice presented Humpty Dumpty with a cheque for $10,000 which will assist them in purchasing a Skeeter Drill of which one is needed for The Children’s Hospital at Westmead Operating Suite.

My personal thanks for achieving this amazing result to the Fund Managers and Life Companies who so generously donated auction items, my conference committee headed by Jon Francis and Graeme Yeates, and a special thank you to Frank Casarotti who was our auctioneer on the night!

Rob McCann

General Manager

Benefits such as the Age Pension, Pensioner Concession Cards and Rent Assistance might sound familiar, but are you making the most of them? Did you know that bereavement assistance is available?

A fairer pension

Have you noticed an increase in your Age Pension payments over the last six months?

During 2009, the Australian Bureau of Statistics developed the Pensioner and Beneficiary Living Cost Index (PBLCI). The PBLCI is for Pensioners what the Consumer Price Index is to consumers. It gauges the cost of living, specifically reflecting changes in the living costs of pensioners and other households receiving income support from the Government. Consequently, every quarter, social security pensions will be indexed by whichever is the greater: the increase in the CPI or the increase in the PBLCI.

Over time, the index will progressively improve to better reflect price changes experienced by pensioners and beneficiaries.

To make the Age Pension more sustainable to an ageing population, the Age Pension age for both men and women will gradually increase to 67. However, only people born after 30 June 1952 will be affected by this change.

If you already qualify for the Age Pension, you may also be entitled to some of the benefits outlined below:

Pensioner concession card

This card entitles you to reduced cost medication under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). You may also be entitled to various concessions from the Australian Government such as:

• bulk billing for doctor’s appointments (this is your doctor’s decision)
• more refunds for medical expenses through the Medicare Safety Net
• assistance with hearing services through the Office of Hearing Services.

You may also be entitled to various concessions from State and Territory Governments and local councils which include:

• reductions on property and water rates;
• reductions on energy bills;
• a telephone allowance;
• discounted mail redirection through Australia Post;
• reduced fares on public transport;
• reductions on motor vehicle registration; and
• free rail journeys.

Please note that Pensioner Concession Card concessions are different in each State and Territory and vary between local councils.

For a complete list of available concessions, you can obtain a copy of ‘A guide to Centrelink concession cards’ booklet from any Centrelink office or visit www.centrelink.gov.au

Rent assistance

Rent Assistance will give you that extra help if you are renting privately. However, if you are currently paying rent directly to State or Territory Housing Authorities, you are not eligible to claim Rent Assistance.

Pension loans scheme

If you (or your partner) are of Age Pension age and cannot get a pension because of your income or assets (but not both), or if you only receive a part pension, you can access capital tied up in your assets under the Pension Loans Scheme.

The Pension Loans Scheme is a voluntary arrangement which provides support in the form of a loan, for a short time or for an indefinite period, which is paid in regular fortnightly instalments.

Bereavement assistance

The trauma of losing a loved one can sometimes be compounded for a survivor by the uncertainty of their immediate financial future. Although most people do not feel inclined to deal with financial matters at this time, understanding what assistance is available can help to ease the stress.

Prompt notification about the death of a loved one enables Centrelink to assess your entitlement to bereavement assistance. A bereavement payment is usually paid as a fortnightly amount to help settle the financial affairs of the person who has died. It also helps the partner, or carer, to adjust to the change in financial circumstances as a result of that person’s death. For some payments, such as Wife Pension, Carer Payment, Partner Allowance or Parenting Payment, the payment may continue for 14 weeks following the death, allowing you time to seek other income support if necessary.

When one member of a couple dies, the survivor’s financial position can also be complicated by the inheritance of assets held in joint names as this can affect their total asset position.

It’s important to consider carefully the implications of passing on assets to children and bypassing yourself. This can also significantly affect your asset position and may result in changed payment rates and is especially relevant if you inherit a valuable asset such as a house, share portfolio or antiques.

Your financial adviser can help you review your position and decide how to manage your new asset position. Not only will this put your mind at ease, but will also help ensure you are making the most of your Centrelink entitlements and benefits.

Source: Centrelink

• Money Matters – Spring 2011
• Money Matters – Autumn 2011
• Money Matters – Summer 2010/2011
• Money Matters – Spring 2010
• Money Matters – Winter 2010