Picking a monetary adviser

A lot of Australians will make use of a economic adviser’s solutions at some point in their life but various advisers come with diverse levels of qualification, encounter, and objectivity. This makes it extremely critical to investigate any adviser you are contemplating employing in regards to these variables.

How can I assess the good quality of any given economic adviser?

Your first port of get in touch with must be the new Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) financial advisers register. It supplies a (potentially incomplete) list of “people who supply personal suggestions on investments, superannuation and life insurance”. Even though the register isn’t comprehensive, only a small number of folks aren’t on the register, generating it a good 1st cease for assessing any monetary adviser(s) you are searching at.

Also worth a appear is Adviser Ratings an independent website where you can each rate a financial adviser you’ve had dealings with, and look at the ratings received by any economic adviser(s) you might be contemplating employing. It can also support to uncover a number of advisers to suit your certain needs and requirements, from which point you can pick the one that appears like the best adviser for you.

What should I ask the adviser ahead of I engage their solutions?

Even though numerous of the inquiries you will need to have to ask a economic adviser will be particular to your person predicament, the ASIC internet site has an substantial list of inquiries you should ask in order to assess whether the adviser you’re talking to is worth continuing with. Here are 10 of the far more common-objective ones, to give you an notion of the kind of inquiries you must be asking.

1. What are your qualifications?


2. Are you authorised to offer advice on the merchandise you are recommending to me?


3. Can you advise me on my existing items?


4. What is your experience as a monetary advisor?


5. Are you a member of any business associations and/or skilled bodies?


6. How do you maintain up to date with alterations that may well impact your clientele?


7. How do you get to know a new client?


8. How are you paid, and what is your advice most likely to price?


9. Do you get paid for selling me a specific product? What about any ‘soft dollar’ positive aspects you might acquire?


10. What costs or other rewards do you get for referring me to an additional person or company?

As lengthy as you do your due diligence and assess your potential monetary adviser completely and carefully, you will have a greater chance of ending up with a economic adviser who’ll offer you with the best and most suitable advice attainable.

Picking a monetary adviser

Picking a house loan

With present variable mortgage interest prices low – and fixed-term prices even reduced – there is plenty of house buyer interest in either receiving or refinancing a house loan. So – here are a few frequent questions that we get asked, and our response.

Q: Must your decision for fixed or variable residence loan be wholly guided by the present market and the official interest price?

There’s a lot more than just the existing interest rate to feel about when you’re deciding whether or not to go fixed or variable. At the moment fixed property loan prices can look really tempting – on CANSTAR’s database, typical 1,2 and 3 year fixed rates are all lower than the average standard and common variable prices. Fixed rates have definitely been a well-known search item in recent months.  However if you fix your home loan and then finish up needing to break the contract for some cause – probably simply because you choose to move home or want to refinance – you could end up paying a big break expense.

Basically, some factors you want to believe about when deciding among fixed or variable incorporate regardless of whether you are probably to move in the near future. If so, a fixed rate may not be for you. Also think about how essential it is for you to have certainty in your repayments. If you’re on a tight spending budget and you definitely do not want your repayments to change, then a fixed rate can give you that certainty. Also weigh up exactly where you feel the official cash price (and by association, home loan interest rates) are headed – but remember that economic institutions are also continually analysing this and have currently factored their predictions into the present rates on offer you! Lastly of course the current market and prices on supply should play a component.

And remember you can usually hedge your bets by fixing part of your residence loan and leaving component on variable prices (or in other words, splitting it). Attempt our split residence loan calculator and play around with some scenarios.

Q: Is it crucial to anticipate alterations in interest rates when taking out a mortgage?

It is totally essential to anticipate modifications in interest rates when taking out a mortgage. For most folks, specifically very first home buyers, it is a lot of money that is becoming borrowed and it’s becoming borrowed over a long timeframe. Interest rates are without a doubt going to rise – and fall – over the life of your loan.

So don’t leave yourself also short of spare money – you ought to often element in a 2 or 3 % rise in interest rate when you are deciding regardless of whether or not a loan will be inexpensive.

Of course, your household revenue will hopefully also boost more than time, which will in turn make your mortgage much more reasonably priced. It is usually better to be cautious and conservative although. It’s one thing that’s strongly advisable by APRA and ASIC.

Q: Is your choice of fixed/variable/split mostly about your appetite for threat, or simply about budgeting what’s appropriate for you?

Residence loan interest rates are so low at the moment in historical terms that there’s quite tiny danger either way! Picking in between a fixed, variable or split mortgage is largely about deciding what’s correct for both your lifestyle and spending budget.  Some folks almost certainly like to try and outsmart their financial institution by playing the fixed/variable industry, but it’s far more critical to make a deemed selection that suits your household spending budget and priorities, and leave it at that.

You can examine house loans right here, and discover out more useful data for first home buyers right here.

Picking a house loan

Picking a house loan

With current variable mortgage interest prices low – and fixed-term rates even reduce – there is a lot of property buyer interest in either receiving or refinancing a property loan. So – here are a couple of widespread queries that we get asked, and our response.

Q: Must your decision for fixed or variable house loan be wholly guided by the current market place and the official interest rate?

There’s a lot more than just the present interest price to think about when you are deciding whether to go fixed or variable. Currently fixed residence loan prices can appear really tempting – on CANSTAR’s database, typical 1,2 and 3 year fixed prices are all decrease than the average basic and normal variable prices. Fixed rates have definitely been a popular search item in recent months.  However if you fix your home loan and then finish up needing to break the contract for some purpose – possibly since you decide to move property or want to refinance – you could end up paying a massive break price.

Essentially, some items you require to feel about when deciding among fixed or variable contain whether you are likely to move in the near future. If so, a fixed price might not be for you. Also believe about how critical it is for you to have certainty in your repayments. If you’re on a tight spending budget and you totally don’t want your repayments to change, then a fixed rate can give you that certainty. Also weigh up where you think the official money rate (and by association, property loan interest prices) are headed – but bear in mind that economic institutions are also continually analysing this and have already factored their predictions into the existing rates on provide! Finally of course the existing industry and rates on offer ought to play a component.

And bear in mind you can constantly hedge your bets by fixing element of your residence loan and leaving portion on variable rates (or in other words, splitting it). Try our split residence loan calculator and play around with some scenarios.

Q: Is it crucial to anticipate modifications in interest prices when taking out a mortgage?

It’s absolutely vital to anticipate alterations in interest rates when taking out a mortgage. For most folks, specifically first home buyers, it’s a lot of funds that is becoming borrowed and it is becoming borrowed more than a long timeframe. Interest prices are with no a doubt going to rise – and fall – more than the life of your loan.

So don’t leave yourself as well quick of spare cash – you must usually element in a 2 or 3 % rise in interest price when you are deciding no matter whether or not a loan will be cost-effective.

Of course, your household income will hopefully also boost more than time, which will in turn make your mortgage far more cost-effective. It’s often much better to be cautious and conservative although. It’s something that’s strongly advised by APRA and ASIC.

Q: Is your selection of fixed/variable/split mostly about your appetite for risk, or basically about budgeting what’s right for you?

Residence loan interest prices are so low at the moment in historical terms that there’s really little danger either way! Choosing in between a fixed, variable or split mortgage is largely about deciding what’s correct for each your way of life and spending budget.  Some people almost certainly like to try and outsmart their monetary institution by playing the fixed/variable industry, but it’s more crucial to make a considered selection that suits your household spending budget and priorities, and leave it at that.

You can evaluate property loans here, and locate out much more valuable info for first residence buyers right here.

Picking a house loan

Picking a home loan

With current variable mortgage interest rates low – and fixed-term rates even lower – there is plenty of home buyer interest in either getting or refinancing a home loan. So – here are a few common questions that we get asked, and our response.

Q: Should your decision for fixed or variable home loan be wholly guided by the current market and the official interest rate?

There’s a lot more than just the current interest rate to think about when you’re deciding whether to go fixed or variable. Currently fixed home loan rates can look very tempting – on CANSTAR’s database, average 1,2 and 3 year fixed rates are all lower than the average basic and standard variable rates. Fixed rates have certainly been a popular search item in recent months.  However if you fix your home loan and then end up needing to break the contract for some reason – perhaps because you decide to move house or want to refinance – you could end up paying a large break cost.

Essentially, some things you need to think about when deciding between fixed or variable include whether you are likely to move in the near future. If so, a fixed rate may not be for you. Also think about how important it is for you to have certainty in your repayments. If you’re on a tight budget and you absolutely don’t want your repayments to change, then a fixed rate can give you that certainty. Also weigh up where you think the official cash rate (and by association, home loan interest rates) are headed – but remember that financial institutions are also continually analysing this and have already factored their predictions into the current rates on offer! Finally of course the current market and rates on offer should play a part.

And remember you can always hedge your bets by fixing part of your home loan and leaving part on variable rates (or in other words, splitting it). Try our split home loan calculator and play around with some scenarios.

Q: Is it essential to anticipate changes in interest rates when taking out a mortgage?

It’s absolutely essential to anticipate changes in interest rates when taking out a mortgage. For most people, particularly first home buyers, it’s a lot of money that is being borrowed and it’s being borrowed over a long timeframe. Interest rates are without a doubt going to rise – and fall – over the life of your loan.

So don’t leave yourself too short of spare cash – you should always factor in a 2 or 3 percent rise in interest rate when you’re deciding whether or not a loan will be affordable.

Of course, your household income will hopefully also increase over time, which will in turn make your mortgage more affordable. It’s always better to be cautious and conservative though. It’s something that’s strongly recommended by APRA and ASIC.

Q: Is your choice of fixed/variable/split mostly about your appetite for risk, or simply about budgeting what’s right for you?

Home loan interest rates are so low at the moment in historical terms that there’s very little risk either way! Choosing between a fixed, variable or split mortgage is mostly about deciding what’s right for both your lifestyle and budget.  Some people probably like to try and outsmart their financial institution by playing the fixed/variable market, but it’s more important to make a considered decision that suits your household budget and priorities, and leave it at that.

You can compare home loans here, and find out more useful information for first home buyers here.

Picking a home loan

Picking a savings account

Each year CANSTAR researches a multitude of savings accounts on the market, to determine which organisations offer outstanding value for Australians. This year CANSTAR is pleased to congratulate BOQ on taking out the Bank of the Year – Savings award for 2014.

CANSTAR caught up with Debra Forster, BOQ Head of Deposits, for some tips on what customers are looking for in a savings account.

Q: BOQ offer a particularly competitive rate on its WebSavings account. Have you seen an increase in the use of online saver accounts (as opposed to term deposits) over the past few years?

While we offer particularly competitive WebSavings Accounts, we believe that our market competitive term deposits continue to offer customers outstanding value for money, particularly for those customers who require rate certainty over a fixed term.   For retirees Term Deposits give peace of mind through a secure income stream in retirement.    Term Deposits are also a great option for first home savers, as funds are locked in and the temptation to dip into the funds is reduced.  However, as interest rates have decreased in line with the RBA cash rate we have noticed a trend towards at-call deposits, which give customers greater flexibility to access funds.

Q: When deciding between a straight online savings account and a bonus saver account, what considerations should customers weigh up?

In forming a cash investment strategy we would suggest that customers consider their need to access funds, versus their need to earn interest and the period of time they are likely to hold the funds in cash investments.  Online Savings Accounts generally provide eligible customers with a short term introductory special rate, which then reverts to a lower variable base rate.   These Introductory Special Rates can be a great option for customers who are looking for a higher return over a short period of time.   On the other hand bonus saver accounts pay bonus interest based on the customer meeting certain monthly criteria.   These accounts can be great for customers who are looking to save and invest money over a longer period of time. Unlike many other Bank’s bonus saver accounts that pay bonus interest in months where customers make no withdrawals and meet certain deposit criteria, our Bonus Interest Savings Account rewards customers with bonus interest provided no more than (1) withdrawal is made during a calendar month.   We believe this unique feature gives our bonus saver customers greater flexibility and choice to access their funds once a month, without losing bonus interest.

 Q: I note that BOQ was recently inducted into the Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame. Can you tell us a little bit about that?

The Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame remembers, recognises and retells the stories of business and individuals who have played a vital role in the state’s business landscape. BOQ was recently inducted into the Hall of Fame to recognise its status as a long-standing institution that has loyally served Queenslanders throughout the state’s history and one that has successfully expanded and adapted to meet customers’ changing needs.

BOQ was established in 1874 as the first permanent building society in Queensland – it was the first bank in Australia to have an interest bearing check account and was also the first to appoint a female branch manager.  Today BOQ is a listed company with a market capitalisation of around $ 4 billion.  It employs more than 2,500 people and has operations throughout Australia.

Readers can download the Savings Award report here.

Picking a savings account