Blog

It's tax time - a few tips

Admin — Thu, 17 May 2012 05:04:17 +0000

With the end of financial year approaching, please click here to read our tax newsletter.

Budget Summary 2012-13

Admin — Thu, 10 May 2012 03:04:09 +0000

Please find following, the link to our budget summary which covers some of the main areas affecting financial planning:

Budget Summary 2012-13

UFS at National Allied Health Conference and watch our video!

Admin — Thu, 03 May 2012 04:48:14 +0000

Unified Financial Services is proud to have been an official sponsor of:

The 9th National Allied Health Conference, held in Canberra from 1 – 3rd April 2012.

We have included a couple of snaps and below is the official UFS video, starring a few of our clients, which we showcased at the conference!

Have a look and let us know what you think, you may wish to forward the link to your friends and family if they are seeking financial planning services:-

Having specialised in the health industry for over 23 years, we are passionate about our clients contribution to healthcare in Australia.

“Australia has more than 90,000 allied health professionals, who work alongside doctors and nurses to provide optimum health care for all Australians. This represents 20% of the country's healthcare workforce, together with doctors and nurses, allied health professionals are regarded as the third pillar of health care providers in Australia.” (Source http://www.ahpa.com.au/)

This was our first year of sponsoring the conference and we enjoyed supporting allied health clinicians, managers, policy makers and consumers to explore the theme of Allied Health: Strengthening Health Outcomes through an exciting program developed by the Scientific Program Committee.

Just as the conference mission was to strengthen health outcomes – we at UFS strive to strengthen financial outcomes for healthcare professionals!

As we hope to continue to specialise in working with healthcare professionals we saw this as an opportunity to not only support the conference and theme, but also to fly our banner and let health professionals know we, in fact, exist!

We hope that the 15 separate allied health associations that were part of the conference will seek us out to present on financial literacy in the workplace.

The conference was organised by Allied Health Professions Australia, it was a major opportunity for healthcare professionals to come together to hear about innovation in the provision of healthcare, to network and to exchange ideas and information.

In this time of major healthcare reform, the Conference provided a unique opportunity for people working in the area to learn more about the reforms and their potential outcomes.

The Program featured high profile and diverse speakers, as well as interactive workshops and free communication sessions.

For more information about Allied Health Professions Australia, visit http://www.ahpa.com.au/Home.aspx

Helping kids the right way

Admin — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 23:22:02 +0000

This article was written for our clients with adult children however the concepts extend to anyone wishing to assist a loved one financially.

With the price of houses having risen in the last decade much more quickly than average wages, and financially challenging life changes such as divorce more common, we are seeing more and more clients who wish to assist their adult children financially.

Gone are the days where financial support ended with high school, and Uni was funded by the Government. Now financial support is extending into middle-aged children and onto the next generation of grand-children.

Now we are routinely seeing families helping their kids with

Is your house in order?

Admin — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 23:56:27 +0000

With current market volatility it can be easy to only think about the risk of the sharemarkets, it is also important to remember the other type of risk for our families – the risk of illness, accident and death.

Particularly if you have debts and/or dependents it is vital to consider your overall family position, especially for blended families, grandparents helping out, smaller families and many other challenges.

The accidental deaths of a young couple visiting Melbourne last year for a footy match, leaving their children in difficult circumstances, is a timely reminder to ensure your extended family has their “house in order”:-

Are the debts of important family members covered by insurance – or will they be forced to sell a house at a difficult time?
Is the family covered for ill-health as well as for death – many people only have...

Michelle Tate-Lovery Finalist Interview

Admin — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 04:35:46 +0000

At the recent Association of Financial Advisers award ceremony, as a finalist, Michelle Tate-Lovery had the opportunity to be interviewed about why she is passionate about being a financial adviser, and why she fundamentally believes financial planning is important for everyone.

Michelle Tate-Lovery Finalist for Female Excellence in Advice Award

Admin — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 06:19:24 +0000

The team at Unified Financial Services would like to congratulate Michelle Tate-Lovery on her nomination, and now making it as a top 6 finalist, of the inaugural AFA Female Excellence in Advice 2011 Award!

The winner of the award will be announced at the end of October.

This Award recognises professional excellence and outstanding work in addressing the particular issues faced by many women in achieving financial security now and in the future.

The award was established to:

identify outstanding female advisers in leadership roles,
celebrate the high level of professionalism presently displayed by female members of our financial services community,
encourage the choice of financial advice as a profession for females,
profile successful female advisers who bring a different approach to the profession that supports
giving clients choice in advisers, and
address the issues of under insurance and low levels of superannuation for women.

Michelle has worked hard over the years to establish a best practice financial planning firm that focuses on long term relationships with its clients. In this climate of market uncertainty it is a well deserved award and we are cheering Michelle on for the finals.

Click here for more information

Market Volatility

Admin — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 10:25:49 +0000

A number of factors have contributed to this extreme volatility, including political events, natural disasters, the US debt debate and concerns over the problems in Europe. On the upside, Australia does not have a huge government debt. Relative to other parts of the world, Australian banks are also quite financially strong. However, please bear in mind that markets will continue to go up and down for a while due to ongoing uncertainties in political and economic environments across the world.

Clients are asking should they panic! The answer is NO. At times like these it’s really important to stay calm and remember some of the fundamental principles of investing, such as making sure you have a diversified portfolio, and investing for the long term. We know you have heard this all before but it’s true.....by taking a long-term approach to investing, you give your investments time to recover from the downswings that are a natural part of any investment cycle.

Future of Financial Advice Legislation

Admin — Tue, 24 May 2011 07:48:36 +0000

4th of May 2011

Last week The Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation, the honourable Bill Shorten MP released an information pack on the Future of Financial Advice legislation. In his foreward, The Minister states “there is little doubt that those who access quality financial advice are better off than those who do not”. These reforms aim to ensure that Australians receive advice that is in their best interests, removing potential conflicts as a result of incentives or commissions offered to an adviser.

Unified Financial Services Pty Ltd is at the forefront of changes in our industry. We support the professionalism of our industry and I am personally actively involved, being a member of the Financial Planning Associations Transition to Fees Taskforce.

Our main product and focus has always been to provide good sound advice, within the context of current legislation and your personal circumstances. The placing of investments is only one aspect of our service. We were one of the first (since 1989), and still one of the leaders in operating on a transparent fee-for-service basis. We do not rely on generating our income from promoting investment products.

We look forward to the developments in our industry and will continue to be a part of shaping its future.

Super, too much of a good thing?

Admin — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 11:48:13 +0000

We have sourced a great article which covers the traps of contributing too much to Superannuation. By identifying the common mistakes made in respect of concessional contributions, investors can be sure not to run the risk of losing more than they gain.

Sourced from Colonial First State, the quick read article is a great snap shot reminder that Superannuation can be tricky, and seeking the appropriate professional advice in the lead up to tax time is essential.

Too much of a good thing?

Last year approximately 40,000 people contributed too much to their superannuation, with these excess contributions attracting up to 46.5% tax. While the Government encourages us to top up our super by offering a favourable tax environment for super contributions and earnings, it also sets a limit on the amount of contributions that can be made to your super. So it appears that too much of a good thing can be bad for you.

Don't get caught out by contributing too much to super – you might lose more than you gain. Here are some ways to optimise your contributions.