The luckiest country in the world

The luckiest country in the world

“DownUnder” bucks the global trend to come out on top as world’s richest

Whilst America and Europe are harbouring concerns about “GFC Part Two” or a double dip recession, one little country has plenty of reason to celebrate.

At around 3% of the world population, Australia’s population footprint is tiny, but this “blip” on the radar for people is actually a “blimp” on the radar for wealth.

Australia is now ranked as the world’s wealthiest nation by a Credit Suisse re

The average Aussie is now worth almost US$250 000 net, around 400% wealthier than the average US citizen. The proportion of Australian adults worth more than $US100,000 is now eight times the global average.port, citing Aussie wealth figures far in excess of Japan, Singapore, Switzerland, UK and the USA.

The high wealth rate in Australia is attributed to the strong Australian dollar, property ownership levels and a robust labour market. It could also be said that most Australians were not as caught up in soaring debt, sub-prime loans and massive expenditure such as had been observed in the US and some European countries pre-GFC.

Australians have become wealthier in actual dollar terms, increasing by 300%-400% in a decade, even after adjusting for the improved Australian dollar and the fall in the $US.

“It can be hard for people to tell who is truly rich when they are looking at perceived wealth rather than net wealth,” says Australian wealth coach Jeremy Britton. “We may see the image of the so-called ‘wealthy’ in Ferraris and Porches without realising that many of these people may be leasing the expensive car with a high income and may not actually have much money in savings or investment.”

Britton says that the rising popularity of being “green” has also helped Aussies to save and accumulate money. “Helping the environment by recycling things in business and in the home has cut spending, leading to more actual held profits, both in the corporate world and in our own homes.”

“Of course, Australia has benefited greatly from its mining boom and our relationship with China, but an increased income is no good unless you actually save it and invest it. It would have been very easy for cashed-up Aussies to spend their fortunes frivolously, but most seemed to have accumulated the money quite well, compared to other nations. ”

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) classifies someone as a millionaire only if they have more than $1 Million in “investable assets” such as cash, shares or property equity. Figures of those who are making higher-than average incomes do not necessarily show any correlation to net wealth.

The most recent ABS figures show that the average combined value of a true millionaire’s cars are only $36 000. This would seem to suggest that most Aussie millionaires do not drive cars worth more than a small house, and it may suggest that frugality, rather than flashiness, is one of the keys to true wealth.

Jeremy Britton is an independent wealth coach & business coach. He is often found on the beach, Facebook, or www.24HourWealthCoach.com.

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Financial Planner, Wealth Coach & Author Jeremy Britton will be speaking at several locations in Queensland during April. Please contact the IMP office for bookings on 1300 762 624 or call the venue (all are free events).

April 1st 3pm Brisbane Church of Christ Headquarters, Kenmore

April 2nd 10am Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, Southbank

April 3rd 10am Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, Southbank

April 18th 10am Whitsunday Anglican School, Mackay

April 19th 10am Mackay Convention Centre, Mackay

I-pod, I-phone, I-shares?

The Apple computer company turned the world on its ear (bad pun) a few years ago with the launch of the I-pod portable music player.

Since then, we have also seen the launch of the i-phone mobile phone, which includes satellite linkup and 'pocket computer' characteristics.

New on the horizon are investment vehicles 'i-shares', which may be set to turn the financial planning industry on its head.

For many years, if the public wished to invest into Australian shares, they could approach a stockbroker for direct shares or a financial planner for indirect shares or Aussie managed funds.
Both had their pros and cons, and the investor had a choice between using the two services to generate a similar result.

If the public wanted to invest into overseas markets (e.g. buying shares in China or Japan), it was mostly too difficult or too expensive to use a stockbroker, so the investor could have to use a financial planner to invest into overseas managed funds.
This seemed to then become another distinction between financial planners and stockbrokers: one could get you an overseas investment and one could not.

(It is important to realise that the vast majority of financial planners are not accredited to advise on direct shares as a stockbroker may do.)

With the introduction of i-shares (the I stands for "international"), Australian stockbrokers can now assist the public with investing into overseas markets. You may choose to buy a market such as the Chinese Index or Indian Index and this will be traded on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) in the same way as a share in Woolworths or Telstra.

Does this mean that people will no longer need to see a financial planner? Depending upon the clients' need, it could mean the demise of much of the planners' business. Certainly, losing the "overseas exclusive" may affect planning businesses.

There will always be room for good strategists, but a broker may start to fill a need that was once the sole domain of the planner...
Some planners may upskill themselves to be accredited in i-shares and ASX shares*, while others may simply find that they have lost significant advantage in the new open playing field.

It is unlikely that Microsoft will launch rivals to the Apple i-pod and i-phone. To do so could be expensive, risky or futile. Far wiser to concentrate on the home PC market and gaming consoles such as the X-Box.

As for what the financial planning industry will do to compete, we can only guess. Perhaps fees on overseas funds will come down in response to the availability of i-shares. We can live in hope...

CAUTION: there may be far greater volatility in I-share prices than in standard ASX shares, due to the nature of overseas markets and also the affect of currency prices (the Aussie dollar).

Jeremy Britton and Jacob van Rensburg are both qualified financial planners who are also uniquely accredited to advise on managed funds, direct ASX stocks and i-shares.

Find out more: www.24hourwealthcoach.com or 1300 762 624

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