Antipodean Advisory

Here’s something I see quite a bit.

Someone will show me their home, an investment property, shares in the major banks, an Australian fund and a couple of super accounts.

“I think we’re pretty well spread,” they’ll say.

And to be fair, it looks that way.

But once we look at what sits inside everything, much of their money may still depend on the same things: Australian property, banks, interest rates and the local economy.

That doesn’t make any one of those investments wrong. It means the combination may not be as varied as it first appeared.

This is the part of diversification that’s easy to miss. It’s less about how many investments you can count and more about how many different risks you’re carrying.

I’ve unpacked it in Diversification 101, including what happened when the same $10,000 was invested four different ways.

Have a read, then tell me: have you ever checked two of your funds and realised they owned many of the same companies?

You may not be as diversified as you think.

Diversification 101 - Antipodean Advisory Learn how diversification spreads investment risk, where hidden overlaps occur and what to check. Talk to us about your investment needs.

I'd like to share a client story with you about feeling just ok about retirement to feeling ready.

When this couple first came to see me, they were about five years away from retirement.

They had received an inheritance and put the money in the bank because they thought it was the safest and most sensible option.
But financially it was costing them. The interest was adding to their taxable income, they were still earning good money, which meant they were paying a significant amount of tax, and the money wasn’t earning as much as it could.

My client's were in good shape but they just felt there may be a better way to set things up before retirement.

👉🏻 Here's what we did

We looked at how they could use super more effectively and make better use of the tax advantages available.

Over the next five years, we:

-caught up on unused concessional contribution limits where appropriate
-continued adding more to super each year
-invested the money with retirement in mind
-modelled what their retirement income and spending could look like
-reviewed the plan as their circumstances changed

There was also a life threatening health scare that put their lifestyle and retirement into question and brought things into sharper perspective.

👉🏻 Where they are now years on?

When they first came to see me, they felt okay about their finances.

Now, they feel more in control and are actually excited about retirement.

They know what they can afford to spend. They understand how their money will support them. And they feel confident they can enjoy the years ahead.

Retirement no longer feels like something they need to worry about and hope they'll be ok.

It feels like something they can look forward to.

That's the value of advice.

👇🏻
Hello I'm Michael, a financial adviser based in Sydney.
I'm hear to help you get a clear view of your finances and put a plan in place to help you live the life you want.
[email protected]

Every month I take a deep dive into what the market's telling us.

Here's what happened; August delivered mixed signals.

Global shares rose, while bond markets remained cautious. Investors began asking tougher questions about AI spending. Developments in private credit also showed why an attractive yield never tells you everything about an investment.

I’ve unpacked the important bits, what we’re watching and how it feeds into portfolio decisions.

You can read it on my website.

https://vist.ly/5gta5

Yes to choices!

Believe it or not, financial advice isn’t always very sexy.

A lot of it comes down to making sure your money is in the right place for when you’ll need it.

Money you might need next month has a different job from money you won’t need for another 15 years.

That’s why I often plan across three buckets: short, medium and long term.

Your short-term money keeps life running. It covers your regular spending and gives you an accessible safety net when the car dies, the roof leaks or life delivers one of its expensive surprises.

Your medium-term money covers the larger costs and plans coming over the next few years. Keeping it separate means you’re less likely to disrupt investments intended for much later.

Your long-term money has time to grow. These are the assets that can eventually produce income and support you through retirement.

We work through all three together because life rarely follows a perfectly tidy plan. You need enough for now, some protection when things change and money quietly working towards the future.

When those pieces are in place, retirement becomes less about hoping you’ll have enough and more about understanding the choices available to you.

That’s what financial advice should give you. Choices.

⭐ I'm Michael, a Sydney Financial Adviser who can help you get control of your finances.

Get in touch: [email protected]

My number looks different to yours. And your number looks different to the bloke down the road.

That's why 'average' retirement numbers don't suit everyone.

When I help someone plan for retirement, we start with a conversation about what you want your money to do for you.

How it can support you to live your best life. Whatever that looks like.

That becomes your target number.

Then I model a bunch of scenarios to show you how financial decisions can impact on how much you have and how close you are to living your best retirement life.

Once we see that, we can confidently predict the life your savings and investments could support and any trade-offs we need to consider.

Once you know what the money needs to do, the numbers make sense.

And you’re also more likely to stick with a plan when you understand what you’re working towards and why each decision has been made.

👇🏻
If retirement is getting closer and you don’t know whether you have enough—or even what enough looks like for you—that’s a conversation I can help with.

Get in touch [email protected]

The first step can feel like the hardest one.

You may have been thinking about seeing a financial adviser for months.

But you’re not sure whether your situation is “complicated enough”.

You don’t know what questions to ask.

You’re worried your finances aren’t organised.

Or you think you should sort a few things out before you book.

You don’t.

You don’t need to have all the answers.

You don’t need a perfect spreadsheet.

And you don’t need to spend another six months trying to work it all out on your own.

When people come to see me, one of the things they often say is how relieved they feel once everything is on the table.

They can see what they have.

They understand what needs attention.

They know what can wait.

And they have a plan instead of a head full of half-finished questions.

Sometimes the most valuable part of financial advice isn’t the investment strategy or the retirement projection.

It’s the relief that comes from knowing where you stand.

So when you’re ready to take the first step, come as you are.

We’ll work through the rest together.

In many relationships, one person handles most of the money.

They know where the accounts are, how the investments work, when the bills are due and what’s sitting in super.

Then the relationship ends.

Suddenly, the other person has to make decisions they’ve never had to make before.

That can feel challenging because they’ve never had to deal with it all.

I’ve met smart, capable people who can run teams, manage households and make big decisions at work, yet still feel out of their depth when it comes to their own finances after divorce.

There’s no shame in that.

You don’t need to become an investment expert overnight.

But you do need to understand what you own, what you owe, how your money is invested and what needs attention first.

That’s the starting point.

Getting clear enough to take control.

Most people sit in two camps when it comes to retirement.

1. They want to stop work as soon as possible
2. They want as much money per year as they can

What's your idea?

Would you rather retire.... Would you rather retire....

Is your money sitting in the right structure for where life is now?

Family trusts and wealth structures are back in the conversation again.

That’s not a bad thing.

Because for a lot of people, the bigger question is not just whether the structure was right at the time.

It’s whether it still fits now.

A few questions worth reviewing:

- Does the structure still match what this money is meant to do?
- If something happened to me, would the money actually end up where I want it to?
- Do the people involved understand how the structure works?
- Has life changed since this was last properly reviewed?
- Are the legal and financial sides actually lined up?

A structure can look fine on paper and still be out of step with where life is now.

That’s why these reviews matter. Not just from a tax point of view, but from a practical one too.

Because it’s one thing to have a structure in place.

It’s another to know it still does the job you need it to do.

Money stress has a way of leaking into everything else.

It rarely stays neatly in the “money” part of life.

It shows up in your sleep.
Your patience.
Your headspace.
Your relationships.
Your ability to make clear decisions.

A lot of the time, people are not just carrying financial pressure. They’re carrying the mental load that comes with not feeling clear, not feeling organised, or not knowing whether they’re on track.

That’s why getting on top of your finances is not just about numbers.

It can change how life feels day to day.

👉🏻 I'm Michael, a financial adviser based in Sydney. Let's have a chat so you feel good about money.