Bruce Jennings, Author at Jennings Financial Services

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So far Bruce Jennings has created 69 blog entries.

The case for Calm with COVID-19

https://www.ampcapital.com/au/en/insights-hub/Videos/2020/march/the-case-for-calm-with-covid19?csid=1229034487 Please click on the link to watch the Webinar from Dr Shane Oliver - Head of investment strategy & Economics & Chief Economist at AMP Capital. This isn’t the first human health emergency we’ve seen, and it won’t be the last. Shane Oliver shares his views and projections on the COVID-19 outbreak, drawing on tried-and-tested lessons for managing and protecting investments during a crisis. This is a plain English webinar, that is extremely informative about the current market conditions and what you can expect going forward. If you have any concerns or questions please contact Bruce

By Bruce Jennings|2020-03-18T09:54:18+11:00March 17th, 2020|Market News, Tips and Other News|0 Comments

Market Fall On Oil Price

What has caused the Market Fall on Oil Price & Coronavirus Shocks? What happened? Global share markets have fallen in recent days driven by a collapsed oil deal and coronavirus impacts. The Australian share market fell 19.6% from its peak on 20 February 2020 to 9 March. This means the gains of 2019 have been lost with the index back at Dec-18 levels. Why have share markets fallen this much? A case of two shocks Coronavirus fears for global economic growth Share markets have fallen following growing concerns over a global Covid-19 (a.k.a. coronavirus outbreak). This virus is related to the SARS outbreak that affected Asia, notably China in 2003. It has proven to be difficult to control and sparked outbreaks outside of China, across much of the world with Italy, Iran and South Korea the most notable cases. As the outbreaks outside of China escalated, investors retreated from shares and fled to safe assets such as bonds as [...]

By Bruce Jennings|2020-03-17T13:44:37+11:00March 17th, 2020|Market News, Tips and Other News|0 Comments

Market Fall on Coronavirus Fears

Recent market falls Share markets fell last week with the Australian market experiencing one of its worst weeks since August 2011 (when people thought the EU would break up). Negative returns in any given period can happen in the share market with this week standing out for its severity. However, we also see historically shares have lost value in approximately 22 weeks out every 52 weeks since 1980. It is not a rare thing to see in the share market. Shares lost money because a rise in Covid-19 (a.k.a. coronavirus) cases outside of China saw investors sell out of shares and look to safer assets such as bonds or gold. This is because efforts to combat the virus will likely see travel, trade and business activity either slow or shut down temporarily. That would see weaker demand for goods and services, so business profits and wages are likelier to struggle in the short term. Major movers in Global Markets [...]

By Bruce Jennings|2020-03-04T13:11:39+11:00March 4th, 2020|Community Activity, Market News|0 Comments

The Link Between Financial & Mental Health

It may seem obvious that financial stress would have a direct impact on people’s health and happiness. However, new research from Fidelity International suggests that Australians are not making the link between financial health and our overall wellbeing. Fidelity’s survey of over 2,000 Australians shows almost half of us worry about money at least weekly, with one in four worrying at least daily. And having money doesn’t necessarily make people immune from anxiety. More than a third of Australians with more than $1 million of assets to invest still worry at least monthly. What are Australians worrying about? We have enjoyed more than 25 years of uninterrupted economic growth and Australia has not experienced a recession since 1991. Our superannuation system is the envy of many parts of the world and most people have now been accumulating savings to fund retirement since the Superannuation Guarantee started in 1991, a healthy last 28 years ago. Despite this, less than one [...]

By Bruce Jennings|2020-02-14T14:47:13+11:00February 14th, 2020|Tips and Other News|0 Comments

International Markets Roundup

February 5 2020 - International Market Roundup The Nasdaq hit a record high on Tuesday and the S&P 500 posted its biggest one-day gain in about six months as fears of a heavy economic impact from the coronavirus outbreak waned after China's central bank intervened. Asia Chinese stocks ended higher on Tuesday as the central bank vowed to stabilise the market, regaining some ground from the coronavirus-led rout that erased almost $400 billion in market value from the Shanghai benchmark in the previous session. The Shanghai Composite index closed up 1.3 per cent at 2783.29 the biggest daily gain since 13 December, 2019. The blue-chip CSI300 index jumped 2.6 per cent, clocking its biggest daily gain since 1 July 2019. CSI300's sub-index for the financial sector gained 2 per cent, the consumer staples sector jumped 2.9 per cent, the real estate index were up 2.2 per cent and the healthcare sub-index climbed 3 per cent. Hong Kong stocks climbed [...]

By Bruce Jennings|2020-02-06T10:51:47+11:00February 6th, 2020|Market News|0 Comments

Small Steps to Great Success

If you want to get ahead, financially, it’s necessary to take some steps to get there. It may seem daunting and overwhelming but like anything, if you have a professional guiding you along the way, small steps can lead to something great. Step 1 | Seek advice It’s hard to achieve great success without a team of experts behind you and your wealth is no different. Getting professional financial advice means your adviser can work through a myriad of options with you and implement a strategy aligned closely to your financial goals. Retirement planning, tax-effective super strategies, investments and estate planning? Your financial adviser can help. Step 2 | Understand what role risk plays One of the first things your financial adviser will do is work out your risk profile, which they will check at regular review meetings. Why? Because risk is related to return, and this will help drive the recommendations they make to you in terms of your financial [...]

By Bruce Jennings|2020-02-05T12:28:49+11:00February 5th, 2020|Tips and Other News|0 Comments

Heading to Retirement

Here are some tips for retiree Australians (and their families and friends) as we kick-off 2020: 1. If you are turning 66 this year, make a diary note to look closely at an age pension application 12 weeks before the actual birthday. This gives time to address any hiccups well in advance of your first payment being due. You should have some idea of whether you are eligible for the age pension, and the payment should form part of spending plans. 2. If you are turning 66 this year, and think you are not eligible for the Centrelink age pension, make sure you know exactly why, so you can get ready to apply if things change. You may even be wrong. 3. If you are turning 66 this year, and you are not eligible for the Centrelink age pension, then apply for the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card. This card is income tested and could save you more than $2,500 a year on healthcare costs. [...]

By Bruce Jennings|2020-01-28T11:58:33+11:00January 31st, 2020|Community Activity|0 Comments

Consequences of Underinsuring Your Home

Australia is in the midst of a bushfire crisis that will affect local communities for years, if not permanently, due to a national crisis of underinsurance. Already more than 1,500 homes have been destroyed – with months still to go in the bushfire season. Compare this to 2009, when Victoria’s “Black Saturday” fires claimed more than 2,000 homes in February, or 1983, when the “Ash Wednesday” fires destroyed about 2,400 homes in Victoria and South Australia, also in February. The 2020 fire season could end up surpassing these tragedies, despite the lessons learned and improvements in preparedness. One lesson not really learned, though, is that home insurance is rarely sufficient to enable recovery. The evidence is many people losing their homes will find themselves unable to rebuild, due to lack of insurance. We know this from interviews with those affected by the October 2013 Blue Mountains bushfires (in which almost 200 homes were destroyed). Despite past disasters, more than 65% of households affected were [...]

By Bruce Jennings|2020-01-28T11:39:45+11:00January 28th, 2020|Community Activity|0 Comments

General Insurance Information

How Your Premiums Are Calculated: Ever wondered how insurers work out the cost of your life insurance? There are many factors that can impact the premium you pay, but there are 4 factors in particular you need to be aware of. 1. Your personal risks 2. Your age and gender 3. The more protection you have, the higher the cost of your cover 4. Whether you’ve chosen to pay stepped or level premiums A number of other factors may influence your premium, including: 1. Your personal risks Dangerous occupations can attract a higher base rate for your insurance, even before any loadings are applied. Poor health (such as a high Body Mass Index, or BMI) as well as dangerous hobbies, may add what’s called a ‘premium loading’ to your cover – which means you pay a higher premium than someone who doesn’t have those risk factors. Any loadings like these are recorded on your Policy Schedule. In terms of your health [...]

By Bruce Jennings|2019-11-13T13:58:38+11:00November 15th, 2019|Insurance|0 Comments

9 Myths about Life Insurance

9 Myths about Life Insurance Myth # 1 – Life insurance companies don’t pay claims There’s a common perception that life insurance companies will do everything they can to avoid paying claims. In fact, 92% of all life insurance claims are paid in the first instance. And OnePath Life has paid 93% of claims for policies taken out with a financial adviser during 2018. As long as you fulfil your duty of disclosure when you apply for cover, and you’re covered for the medical condition you’re claiming for, you should be confident your claim will be paid. Myth # 2 – I'm young and don’t have kids or a mortgage, so I don’t need it Life insurance isn’t all about providing for debts and dependants. It’s also about looking after yourself. Think what would happen if you became ill or disabled and couldn’t work. Would you ask your parents to bear the financial burden? Or would you rather have income protection to help [...]

By Bruce Jennings|2019-11-13T13:39:28+11:00November 13th, 2019|Insurance|0 Comments