How to avoid an 80% loss --- Have a prosperous 2008

2008 - The Year of The Triumphant Dragon & the Dying Eagle? Jeremy Britton







Thanks for your support throughout 2007: the year that was saw some mining stocks rise 100% and the US dollar drop 20%. This year we expect big things due to the 2008 Beijing Olympics in China, possible further interest rate rises, the change in government and maybe some more financial shocks out of the USA.



Is your super invested in the USA or China?



(check closely before you answer! Call us if you do not like the answer!)

The 2007 year also saw the collapse of several investments, including trouble with Prime Mortgages, Australian Capital Reserve (ACR), Bridgecorp, Fincorp, Westpoint, Centro (80% loss on commercial property?) and the US sub-prime mortgage fiasco, among others.



Interestingly, NOT ONE of our clients was affected by the collapse of these companies nor by the downturn in the US economy. (Insert your prayer of thanksgiving here.)

Did the team have crystal balls? No, we just look back to the past for clues to the future... (Would you like to learn how to do the same? Call us now!)

Stay tuned for further improvements to the IMP business, including the addition of a new financial planner & stockbroker, new facilities for investment loans & home loans, a new life insurance broker and the introduction of some amazing new taxation structures and tips for making you money and saving you tax… Some clients now pay 5% tax, not 45%.



We will also run a FaceBook campaign during Feb/March, to give away hundreds of free books to educate & enrich our fellow Australians.



In April, Jeremy will be speaking at the Brisbane Churches of Christ HQ in Kenmore (April 1st), the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre (April 2 and April 3) and at the Mackay Investment and Money Expo (April 19th). Free talks will also be given at Holy Spirit High School in Mackay and Mountain Creek High School, Sunshine Coast. Please contact us if you would like to attend.



If you know someone else who would benefit from unbiased education & independent enrichment, give us a call and see what we can offer.



All the best for a prosperous year





Jeremy, Jacob, Megan, Tim & team from IMP

How to be a Heroic Investor

How to be a heroic investor

Unless you are a soldier, policeman, fireman or even possibly a public school teacher, you are probably thinking, “I don’t risk my life on a daily basis. I am not a hero. What does this have to do with me?”

The answer is that anyone can be an inspiration to others. It is your humanity that makes you a hero. Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Theresa could have just sat on the sidelines, completing crosswords in the rest home and no-one would have blamed them. Instead, both risked their lives to bring change. You may not battle against leprosy, poverty or the British Empire, but you may choose to take on something that is bigger than you and try like crazy to overcome it. You may make it your life’s work to eradicate third-world debt, save the numbat or invent a better-tasting lamington.

You may choose to skip the huge awesome goals and consider simply doing one thing each day to make the world a better place. You may never risk your life in the course of your goal, you may only risk poverty, failure or humiliation. Those are still big risks, and big risks are often placed smack bang in front of big rewards and big achievements. Know that you may fail. Feel the fear and do it anyway.

Your local library will be filled with autobiographies from real-life heroes who bounced back from overwhelming odds: Nelson Mandela, Richard Branson, Motzart, Rembrandt, Abraham Lincoln and others. (Lincoln’s story of three failed elections, failed businesses, the death of his wife, his son, and quitting politics is particularly inspiring; because nothing seemed to go right for him until after he turned fifty. 50!)

Locals like “Aussie John” John Symond , Dick Smith , Jamie McIntyre , Li Cunxin and Peter J. Daniels had to overcome fabulous odds to succeed. “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” author Robert Kiyosaki was almost 50 before retiring and writing his best-seller.

Walt Disney and Henry Ford were both bankrupt before they finally risked everything, yet again, to make their fortunes in later life.

My desktop on my computer has a picture of a surfer that inspires me: I learned to surf on my 33rd birthday, despite the fact that I cannot swim! The words next to the picture say “It is never too late to be what you might have been”.

Be a hero: never give up. Invest into yourself.


Jeremy Britton is an active financial planner and a lazy investor. His kids think that he’s a hero but they also know the truth: true heroes regularly show their humility.
Inspiring words and investment tips available from www.24hourwealthcoach.com

Jeremy Britton is an Authorised Representative #298825 of Financial Planning Services Australia, ABN 11 010521810, AFSL 225982.

Billionaires agree on investment horizon

Economic guru says that the clock is still ticking

July 30th 2007

These could be scary days for investors, unless they look back for the future.

As the Reserve Bank debates about putting up interest rates yet again, the property market looks perilously high, housing affordability is at all-time lows, and the sharemarket is making plunges into negative territory. What to do?

Recent sharemarket dips in the USA and China may drive panic into Australian investors. Many investors fear that October 2007 may hold a major sharemarket correction, as has happened in 1997 (Japan) and also 1987 (USA & Australia).

Right now, housing price growth appears unsustainable, sharemarkets look choppy, the US dollar is dropping and the Australian dollar is higher than in the 1980’s. Where should investors be placing their money now?

“This is all normal”, says Jeremy Britton, Australian financial planner and author. His latest book, “Who’s Taking Your Money?”, deals with the money movement from USA to China and Australia and the centuries-old Economic Clock. “Although many of these occurrences look alarming, similar things have occurred before, and they will occur again. The trick is to recognise what comes next in the pattern and then be bold enough to take a calculated action.”

Calculated actions have been taken in the past by other wealth creators, such as US investor and world’s third richest man, Warren Buffett. Buffett refused to invest into the booming “tech-stock” economy in the USA in 1999 and 2000. In a rare speech [published FORTUNE magazine (Nov. 22, 1999)], Buffett stated his belief that “returns from stocks would fall dramatically”. When tech stocks tumbled in 2000 and the broad US markets crashed in September 2001, the quiet oracle kept his profits and maintained his reputation as the world’s best investor.

Asian millionaire investor Lin Yuan has been called the “Warren Buffett of China”, after turning 8000 yuan into 1 Billion yuan over the last 20 years of investing. Like Buffett, Lin invests for the long term into good strong companies and stays away when things get too heated. He bought into the stock market after the 1987 crash and Lin invested in real estate only during the massive growth years between 2001 and 2005.

“Mr Lin sounds like a clock-work investor,” says Britton, who advised clients to purchase property in 1999, seven years after the famous 19% mortgage interest rates stalled the 80’s property market climb and a year before the big property boom of the noughties. “Lin was in the right place at the right time and then moved to the next position when things changed.”

Investors who held property from 1992-1999 could have made returns in line with the CPI, whereas investors who held property from 1999-2005 could have doubled their money. Investors who held Australian shares from 2005 to now may be looking at returns of several hundred percent and despite market fluctuations, many believe that the sharemarket ride still has a way to go.

Buffett is still buying stocks, Lin is investing into a Chinese market that has already risen 300% and Britton is still looking at Australian shares. “It’s funny -- when my advice made investors 300%, people accused me of having a crystal ball to see the future. In reality, all I had was an old tool to look at the past.”

www.24hourwealthcoach.com

The importance of being FRANK...

The importance of being FRANK

Sometimes he is called "Frank" and sometimes he is not... who is he? Our old friend ensures that we pay far less tax than we used to... ya gotta love him for that!

Like many terms in the investing world, "franking" is confusing, old-fashioned and has many aliases...

In years gone by, a franking machine was used to stamp outgoing mail or to stamp invoices that were paid. For those who remember tax stamps, it is a small jump to connect "franking" to having the tax paid on an investment. For the younger crowd, we apologise for the jargon: just believe us when we say that "franked" means "tax paid".

From there, you may hear of "fully franked", "partly franked" (100% tax paid or only partially tax paid), or "FF" (fully franked).

The confusing jargon reminiscent of something to do with hotdogs hides a lovely truth: when you receive a cheque from a company that pays fully franked income, you know that THEY have paid the tax and often you do not have to pay any tax on the investment income.

Many Australian companies pay a company tax rate of 30% on their profits before they pay the shareholders, so you would normally only have to pay extra tax if you are on a tax bracket over 30%.

So, how much money could you have, or how much money could you make, and not have to pay any tax?

Let's look at two scenarios:

(assuming that dividends are the average 3.6% and 100% franked)

Scenario One:

RITC is another name for "rich"

A retired Australian couple could own a share portfolio worth $863 600 and earn almost $45 000pa with no tax to pay.

A portfolio such as this would bring in around $31 090 in dividend income & $13 320 in franking credits (they would have to pay $666 in Medicare-- for more on why the franking credits are paid as cash, refer to "Think RITCH" Chapter 9 of Who's Taking Your Money (and how to get some of it back!).

Scenario Two:

no RITC is still good rich

A second Australian retired couple have a share portfolio worth $4.7 Million ($4 700 000) and could receive an income of $170 064 in dividends without paying any additional tax (they would pay $1822 for Medicare)

Scenario Three:

Super Frank is not a hotdog with a cape on

A third couple could have a share portfolio worth $4.7 Million, as above, but inside of superannuation.

They would receive the same $170 064 in dividends and could also receive $36 444 paid back to their super fund pension account, and would NOT have to pay Medicare...

That is an income of over $200 000 pa with zero tax and zero Medicare levy... Super, huh?

Now you know more about franking and how it can help you to make a LOT of money with LITTLE or NO tax... Excited?

If you have any questions about tax, franking credits and RITC, talk to your accountant or taxation specialist. If you would like to know how to invest or where to invest, talk to a good financial planner or call 1300 762 624 to find one. Once you know how to do it, then (let's be frank) just do it: Invest.

Jeremy Britton DipFA SA(Fin)

[Information provided is of a general nature only and is not to be taken as financial advice. Before making any investment decisions, you should consult an expert to receive advice based on your own unique personal circumstances. Data sourced from technical team at ING Australia.

Investment Management Professionals Pty Ltd, ABN 37 115 359 316, is a Corporate Authorised Representative #306558 of Financial Planning Services Australia Pty Ltd, ABN 55 010 521 810, AFSL 225982. Jeremy Britton can be contacted through www.24hourwealthcoach.com ]

Yes, we know that we said we would look at two scenarios and then you found three. That was just a surprise bonus, not an error. For more surprise bonuses, refer to the website www.24hourwealthcoach.com or www.invest.org.au

God Bless America, Or China, or India...

Invest News #65, 2006


God Bless America, or China
Investing into China & India, safely, via Australia
Are Africans the next Arabs?

Question 1 Who in the world uses the most oil?
Question 2 Where do the oil users get the oil from?

If you answered, 1) “The western countries”, and 2) “The Middle East”, you would be fairly close to the truth… or the truth, as it was, for most of the last century.

In the last few decades we have seen the USA and the western nations using most of the world’s oil, and sourcing it from the Middle Eastern countries.

In more recent years, the amount of oil being used by China is on the rise. Soon, your answers to the above two questions will be “China”, and “Africa”.

Be prepared for a world-wide shifting of the scales.

Seasons change!
For most of the last century, we have seen “the world’s oil” coming from the Arab nations, and consequently, much of the world’s petrol dollars flowing to these nations. There may be sheiks who used to ride camels who now ride around in a Merecedes-Benz, and there may be ex-goat-herders who are now among the wealthiest people on the planet.

If you have a few grey hairs, you may recall the days when Japan was a poor nation, or when Singapore and Malaysia were poor nations. You may recall Arabs who lived in tents and not mansions. Twenty or thirty years ago, some of the wealthiest countries, and some of the wealthiest people, were virtually unheard of by many of us.

Where does China source her oil?

The Middle East has been fought over for centuries, with or without the issues of oil, religion or the western world. While the rest of the world is sourcing their oil from an area that has been fought over for hundreds of years, what is China doing?

Ignoring the western demand and the Middle Eastern supply, China is quietly and carefully drilling for oil in Africa… Shh!

The Chinese are making friends in Africa, building infrastructure, creating jobs, buying oil. The Chinese are sourcing oil to infuse into their growing economy. African people who used to till the soil are now drilling for oil, on larger wages. Their once uneducated children, who were destined to work farms, are now studying to become geologists and engineers for the oilfields.

The Chinese are adding value to Africa in the form of sending in new currency and cheaper imported goods. Just as the Chinese bought plenty of Australian steel and coal, then gave Aussies cheap plasma screen televisions, the Chinese are now doing similar things with the African nations to get oil.

Thank God and watch the destination of your dollar.
The Chinese economy is booming, India is coming second, and Australia is coming along for a ride on the coat-tails of our Asian neighbours. We are making money, creating jobs and things are looking good.

Next time you go shopping, you may make a conscious effort to “Buy Local” to keep jobs here and to support your immediate neighbours inside of your country. Or you may have a broader mind and realize that some of your neighbours are a thousand miles away.

“Buy Local” when you can and when you want to support locals. Buy Asian sometimes without feeling guilty. After all, they are our neighbours and they buy our stuff too! It is possible that your job ultimately depends on a product, service or raw material being sold in Asia.

Show your support for your country, just invest into it. Or invest into other countries that invest into your country.

Think Global, Act Local
Be alert and not alarmed. Learn the “destination of your dollar”. Know that much of China’s and India’s wealth is spent in Australia. Imagine if you bought shares or real estate in Japan or Singapore before they become a wealthy nation. Now think of China and India and imagine how much money you can make in the next few years…

To find out “who’s taking your money” and where it ultimately ends up, call a good financial planner and ask them. To find out which companies or countries will make money from the changing world economy, call a good financial planner and look at which is the safest way for you to profit from the change in global tides.

(Good financial planners are always obligation-free: www.invest.org.au)

Jeremy

Disclaimer
The information contained herein is of a general nature only, does not take into account your particular objectives, financial situation or needs. Accordingly the information should not be used, relied upon or treated as a substitute for specific financial advice. Whilst all care has been taken in the preparation of this material, no warranty is given in respect of the information provided and accordingly neither Professional Investment Services nor its employees or agents shall be liable on any ground whatsoever with respect to decisions or actions taken as a result of you acting upon such information. Jeremy Britton is an Authorised Representative (#298825) of Professional Investment Services, ABN 11 074 608 558, AFSL 234951. Approval #H629

Get a Bank Boost, claim a tax deduction on life insurance

INVEST NEWS #71

A fundamental rule of Investing
One of the fundamental rules of investing is "buy low, sell high". It was stated by legendary investor Sir John Templeton half a century ago, and sung by the Rogue Traders in their 2006 hit, "Way To Go". Templeton bought stocks at the start of WW2 when markets were low and turned a $10 000 investment into $4 million. The Rogue Traders turned a bunch of other people’s songs into a goldmine…

20% discount plus free steak-knives
Alright, so you may not receive free steak knives with your next property purchase, but you may well receive a price discount of 10% to 20% if you are patient. With property markets slowing down, it represents a great time to buy. Sellers are more motivated to haggle and the number of places for sale means that you may take your time to look around for the best deal.

Beat the banks
Contrary to popular belief, banks do not like to repossess people’s houses. Have a look around the branch: it is quite small. There is no place for them to store houses, cars or office blocks that they repossess from tardy payers. The banks do not have room to store physical "stuff"; what they do like to collect is money…

As recently as 1999, one of Australia’s largest banks sold a man’s business premises for 40% of its true value. (Do not ask "which bank?"; the more important question is "Why?") The reason why they sold his premises for 40% of its market value was because he owed the bank 40% of the value.

The bank was not interested n selling the premises for the best price; they were not interested in holding the property and waiting for the market to surge before selling it: they just wanted their money. They did not want land or profit, they just wanted the tardy loan off their books.

Plan ahead for the worst case scenario
As the bank would prefer to receive money rather than land, do yourself a favour and ensure that you can repay the loan, whether you are alive or dead. The bank will give you a loan if you can work and repay the money while you’re vertical, but do not overlook the inevitable. One day you will die, and if you die before you repay the loan, the bank would like to have money, not the building.

If you would like to get a loan for $500 000 and repay it over 20 years, then invest into a $500 000 life insurance policy before you visit the bank.

The bank manager will want to see the income sheets to see if you can pay for the premises or home while you are still alive and working. Show him the figures.

They will also need to conduct due diligence to ensure that the loan will be repaid when you die. Show him your life insurance policy.

You are now prepared for any eventuality and you will have cash to repay the loan, not assets. This ensures that the bank is protected from forced sale and that your family is protected from losing the asset to repossession. Be prepared to answer any question the bank throws at you and you will win.

Claim a Tax Deduction on your life insurance
If you are a self-employed person, there are many tax deductions available to you which are not available to your employed peers. (See "Is my Pizza Tax Deductible?")

While your friends may have a superannuation fund that is paid into by the boss, they cannot normally claim a tax deduction for paying into their own super*.

A self-employed person can claim a tax deduction for payments made to their own super fund. Your employee friends will not normally be able to claim a tax deduction on their life insurance cover*. A self-employed person can often claim a tax deduction on their life insurance...

You have already seen why the bank would prefer your debts to be secured with cash rather than with hard assets. The bank can actually insist that you obtain life cover in certain situations and make it a mandatory part of the loan conditions. The bank cannot insist which company you obtain the insurance with, and they cannot tell you whether you can claim a tax deduction or not. Call a good financial planner or life broker and find out what else you can claim (apart from the pizza).

Jeremy

Jeremy Britton DipFA SA(Fin)
Ph: 07 5443 5577 Mobile: 0410 INVEST
www.invest.org.au

(*There are certain situations where an employed person may be able to obtain tax-effective super contributions or government assisted life insurance premiums. It is far easier to achieve if you are self-employed, but still possible for employees. Call your financial planner to see if you qualify.)
PRIVACY
This article is for general information only and is not intended to constitute any form of financial advice or recommendation of, or an offer to buy or offer to sell, any security or other financial product. Jeremy Britton is an Authorised Representative (#298825) of Professional Investment Services Pty Ltd, ABN 11 074 608 556, AFSL # 234951. Approval #H488
We recommend that you seek your own independent legal or financial advice before proceeding with any investment decision, including purchasing, disposing or holding, of an asset, policy or investment.

What's in a name?

"Invest In Australia" (would you change your name for money?)

For several years the message has been simply "Invest"; forget what anybody says about "buy property", "buy shares", "bank your savings" or even "supersize me"... The best advice was always a one-word phrase, "invest".

It covered all of the relevant areas and was sure to make you rich.When people ask, "Should I buy ostriches?", the answer was "invest". When people said "Should I join this new multi-level marketing company?", the answer was the same.

True investing is not the same as merely "buying". It involves research and due diligence. It implies a serious consideration.

People "buy" stereos or clothes; they "invest" into property, stocks or businesses.

Inspired by Nike's "just do it" and by our new best friend, US Marine Cody Baker, we have changed our mantra from "invest" to "Invest in Australia".

The "lucky country" which has been called "the energy superpower" of the Asian region has already benefited greatly from world demand for gold, steel, uranium, copper, gas, coal and oil.

As China increases consumption of energy and raw materials, Australia will continue to prosper. In the last five years, Australian markets have been buoyed by China and enjoyed average growth of over 10%, whilst the US markets have performed under 5%.

Imagine what will happen in the next few years when India arises as an economic power to rival China...

Australia is an English-speaking country in the heart of Asia-Pacific, close to the growing economies of China, India & Brazil. It holds massive reserves of energy and raw materials. Billions of dollars pour into Australia from China constantly, and this is just the beginning...

Our advice to serious investors is to "Invest in Australia". We are even going so far as to suggest that our new best friend change his name from Cody Baker to Ian..... Ian Vestinaustralia.... We kid you not. Check out the story here.