Are you carrying on a business with one or more business partners?

Have you considered who will assume control of that business in the event of your death? And how to protect your family to ensure they get fair value for your share of the business?

The fourth quarter of 2022 brought some much-needed relief for investors as markets climbed after a challenging previous three quarters. We saw a strong rebound from October, with markets rallying as much as 10% to late November, before retreating throughout December. Australian equities generated strong returns for the quarter outperforming international equities. Currency markets remained volatile as the Australian dollar appreciated around 3% against the USD.

The third quarter was very much a tale of two halves for investment markets. We saw a strong rebound in July from June’s lows, with markets rallying as much as 10% to late August, before erasing almost all the gains in the remainder of the quarter. Australian equities were marginally positive during the quarter, whilst international equities were marginally positive in AUD, however posted significant declines in local currency terms.

We're pleased to share that Peter Leggett has been named as one of the Barron's top 100 Financial Advisers for 2022. Barron’s is a 101-year-old American magazine for investors. The ranking is both a guide to consumers looking for an adviser and a scorecard that advisers can use to measure themselves against one another. Congratulations to Peter

Global equity markets continued to weaken over the June quarter with the MSCI World ex-Australia index down 16.1% in USD terms, taking the annual decline to 14.4%. In AUD terms, the fall in the currency provided some diversification, with the index down 8.4% for the quarter and 6.5% percent for the year.

The dominant theme for markets is that central banks are now clearly focused on high inflation and are prepared to sacrifice growth in pursuit of price stability.

Investment markets continued their decline throughout the second quarter of 2022, as both domestic and global markets trended lower. For investors, the largest challenge has been stomaching the rapid pivot in monetary policy globally and digesting inflation data which has proven to be more persistent than initially thought.

[VIDEO] Emotions can overwhelm strategy when markets are volatile. Director and Private Client Adviser Peter Leggett shares three rules to follow during times of turbulent investment markets.

Are your retirement assets insufficient to cover the ever increasing cost of living? Do you have large unexpected expenses in retirement? If you answered yes and you own your own home, a reverse mortgage may provide a solution.

[VIDEO] Ryan Synnot provides great insight into the Arrow Investment Philosophy and how we’re constructing portfolios in the modern world.

Superannuation is an effective way to save for retirement but the amount of contributions you can make to super in each year is limited. Any superannuation contributions made in excess of the concessional and non-concessional caps may have penalty tax applied. So take care with how much you contribute each year.

The COVID-19 pandemic’s impact upon the way we live our lives has been significant. Reduced travel, a boom in working-from-home, reduced demand for experiences and services, increased demand for food, technology and other goods are just a few examples.

[VIDEO] Ryan Synnot provides an introduction to Early Stage Tax Concessions, an incentive introduced in 2016 to promote investment in innovative, high-growth potential startups.

In welcome news, the Federal Parliament passed the Treasury Laws Amendment (Enhancing Superannuation Outcomes For Australians and Helping Australian Businesses Invest) Bill 2021. Effective from 1 July 2022, this legislation will implement the following superannuation changes:

Back in June 2019, the Reserve Bank (RBA) Board meeting minutes stated that “households are net borrowers in aggregate”, which contributed to their view that on balance “a lower level of interest rates was likely to support growth in employment and incomes and promote stronger overall economic conditions.” I subsequently wrote to the RBA and sought clarification, given that households are not net borrowers in aggregate. Their response advised that the comment was in reference to interest bearing net borrowings, rather than total net borrowings. Perhaps this was the intention of the authors, however the lack of this qualification in the minutes makes the statement incorrect – households are in fact large net savers in aggregate.

Since 1 July 2018, downsizer contributions have afforded eligible older Australians the opportunity to top up their retirement savings where their existing balance leaves them concerned about the sustainability of their lifestyle through retirement. It had been observed that older Australians were potentially being discouraged from downsizing hones that no longer met their needs, the result being that many larger family homes were being occupied by singles or couples.

Markets struggled to build momentum early in the month of December as the emerging and enigmatic Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus continued its spread across the globe. As understanding about the new strain developed (particularly its highly infectious but less potent nature), investors were reassured that economic growth would not be stalled as governments widely exercised restraint with reinstituting lockdowns and restrictions abroad.