Does anyone know of or has a good financial advisor?
I need advice regarding investment properties and also self employment on return to Aus. I need an advisor that has experience on IPs rather than trying to push shares etc.
I am currently overseas so all will have to be done via email, is this is possible.
Not aware of financial advisors that wouldn’t steer you in the direction of shares, bonds, cash (or a combination of all).
I would suggest a good mortgage broker initially (and one who has invested in property), there are many on this forum who would be able to help. This will confirm what you can and can’t do initially. A good accountant as well. (I have a couple of suggestions, which I can private message you with if you like)
I am actually sharing an office with a Certified Financial Planner (who was recently judged best in the state by IFA and Macquarie Bank). He runs a fee for service practice (which means he rebates any commissions) and therefore has no bias towards any asset class or financial products. His name is Sean and his email address is [email protected]
Steve Navra ran two day weekender courses which cost $286/person (basically a cost recovery charge)- seems they have become one day courses at ~$180 since last year.
Steve advocates property as the core asset in an investment portfolio because of the advantages of gearing. Be aware he is a ‘growth’ investor rather than an ‘income’ based income and uses equity to leverage into shares – he also has a unique share fund for those people who want to invest via a fund rather than getting their hands dirty directly.
Steve also uses a cashbond approach to overcome the serviceability issues encountered by growth focussed investors.
Ultimately Steve’s message is to use your money (including equity) to maximise your growth and income opportunities.
Disclaimer – I attended his course and own some units in his fund.
Peter Spann’s company freeman fox http://www.freemanfox.com.au also have a financial planning arm, where they happily discuss shares and property with you.
I am attending the next STEVE NAVRA seminar in Sydney, the april one. I have read a bit about his cash bonds but can’t get my head around them yet. I have a meeting planned for this wednesday with someone in his office, apparently this is free and goes for a hour or so. I have heard some good words on Steve, I’d appreciate your views..
The core of the Navra strategy is capital growth and using the available equity for further investments and/or lifestyle expenses. Obviously structuring would need to considered to maximise these avenues without muddying the waters.
Steve Navra advocates using your $$$ in as many ways as possible to create your wealth. This is achieved through the growth in the value of your own home and the rental income saved, leveraging into investment properties to create an income stream and more growth and leveraging again into shares for growth and dividends. It is really about ensuring every dollar works as hard as it possibly can.
Navra recommends property be the core of your overall strategy due to leveraging advantages. As ‘bits of equity become available’ use these funds to buy shares as they have long term provided better returns than property (high return advocates sit down [:p]!). As equity and income levels allow relaunch into more property via a line of credit and so on.
When serviceability limits kick in (and as a last resort)use surplus equity to purchase cashbonds. The cashbonds provide a recognisable income stream which can be used to overcome serviceability issues.
Now the tricky part – a cashbond earns you income but in the main this is less than the cost of borrowings used to buy the cashbond. On the surface this appears to be a backward step – but you need to remember the additional cashbond allows you to borrow more.
With careful selection and comprehensive research the additional growth benefits far outweigh the costs incurred to purchase the cashbond.
Hope that is of some assistance – I am sure Steve will be able to explain the whole process more fully than I.
I have done the Navra course and consultation, but still can’t understand if you are experiencing serviceability problems, how to you get at the equity to release it to purchase the cashbond in the first place. Without using low doc loans of course. Do you know?
It must be said from the outset that the cashbond is an option of last resort and yes if you have some money left in a line of credit then use that by all means.
If, on the other hand, you have reached the serviceability wall and have room in your line of credit then Steve has developed a relationship with one of the big four banks which allows the ‘serviceability’ issue to be momentarily overlooked while the cashbond is put in place.
If you know a good broker they may well be able to do something similar []