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How We Can Help You

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  1. About Us
  2. Tax Minimisation
  3. Transition to Retirement
  4. Debt Recycling
  5. Retirement Planning
  6. Retirement Income Strategies
  7. Centrelink Strategies
  8. Structures
  9. Aged Care
  10. Wealth Creation
  11. Investment
  12. Superannuation
  13. Account Based Pensions
  14. Shares
  15. Property
  16. Bonds and Fixed Interest
  17. Cash
  18. Alternatives
  19. Managed Funds
  20. Exchange Traded and Smart Beta Funds (ETF's)
  21. Managed Accounts (MDA’s, IMA’s, SMA's)
  22. Self Managed Super
  23. Insurance
    1. Life Insurance
    2. Total and Permanent Disablement (TPD) Insurance
    3. Trauma Insurance
    4. Income Protection Insurance
  24. Lending
  25. Estate Planning
    1. Wills
    2. Enduring Power of Attorney
    3. Testamentary Trust
    4. Beneficiary Nominations
    5. Advanced Health Directive
  26. Binding Financial Agreement
  27. Our Services

About Us

Life Assets is committed to improving lives and helping you to grow your assets by empowering you to make smart financial decisions regardless of your stage of life.

Advisers at Life Assets are highly trained professionals who have specialised in providing personally tailored financial and lifestyle advice for decades. We provide access to quality advice, research and financial tools. You benefit through our experience from working with many people just like you. We:

  • Are 100% privately owned. We put your interests first.
  • Ensure we understand your values and objectives then set in place proven strategies to achieve your objectives.
  • Deliver quality financial outcomes for you, your family and your business.
  • Keep you on track towards your goals.
  • Provide peace of mind, worry free financial advice and strategies.
  • Develop long term, mutually beneficial relationships.

It makes sense to take your advice from a trusted professional!

Tax Minimisation

We assist people to legally and sensibly minimise their tax. Don't pay more than your share.

To quote the late Kerry Packer - "I am not evading tax in any way, shape or form. Now of course I am minimizing my tax and if anybody in this country doesn't minimize their tax they want their heads read because as a government I can tell you you're not spending it that well that we should be donating extra. I've already given you the answer on this subject, I have told you that I pay whatever tax I am required to pay under the law, not a penny more, not a penny less, and the suggestion that I am trying to evade tax, which is what you're putting forward, I find highly offensive and I don't intend to cooperate with you in the blackening of my character."

Transcribed from the in-memoriam 2006 television show The Big Fella: The Extraodinary Life of Kerry Packer.

Transition to Retirement

There can still be significant tax benefits for those eligible for a Transition to Retirement strategy. The strategy allows you to access your super by converting some or all of your superannuation into an income stream, whilst still working. This then allows you to achieve your goals, whether it be working less, paying off debt or ticking something off your bucket list.

For more information on Transition to Retirement Strategies click on the following link - Transition To Retirement.

Debt Recycling

Debt recycling is where you sensibly manage your debt to focusing on paying costly non-deductible debt more quickly. The primary objective is to reduce your non-deductible (home loan) debt more quickly than you would by simply making regular or increased repayments. At the same time it can assist you to accumulate wealth more quickly.

For more information on Debt Recycling Strategies click on the following link - Debt Recycling

Retirement Planning

When would you like to retire? Will your super be enough? Can you access it then? Your retirement may be a distant thought for you or it may be creeping up on you very quickly or even right upon you. Either way, it is vitally important to know that you can maintain your current lifestyle and enjoy this time of your life. .While Australian employers are required to contribute to super on your behalf, research shows this will not be enough for many to live comfortably in retirement?

Do you know your position?

We have sophisticated modelling tools, understand the strategies available that can help you get on track and make sure you design the outcome you will be happy with.

Let us help you to formulate your plan to get there!

Retirement Income Strategies

Retirement for many is the time of life where you start to rely on your super or other assets to provide an income. Whether or not you are eligible to receive an age pension can make a significant difference to your financial position. The types of potential income streams available include:

Which is right for you?

Let us help you to ensure you receive the benefits a carefully tailored plan can offer you!

Centrelink Strategies

There are a number of Centrelink benefit payments available and we can assist you by reviewing your current position to assess which entitlement you may be eligible for. We also advise people how they can get more.

Don't miss out on your entitlements and the benefits a carefully tailored plan can offer you.

Structures

Setting out with the correct structure is vitally important to ensure efficiency and flexibility in the future. We assist our clients to determine the most suitable structure for them, their investments and their businesses, whilst keeping things as simple as possible. Trusts, companies, super funds and partnerships can all have benefits but all too often we see complicated structures established which people don’t understand. You should know what you have and why you have it.

You can rely on our expertise to help you and keep things as simple but as efficient as possible.

Aged Care

Aged care is a very complex area and requires very careful consideration and analysis. What may seem like the correct idea on the surface, often has negative ramifications. Whether you are considering options for yourself or for a loved one we can help you to solve the puzzle, develop the best strategy and make an informed and sensible decision.

For more information click on the following link - Aged Care.

Wealth Creation

Creating wealth and financial security is a very worthy but sometimes elusive objective. There can be many traps and pitfalls to creating wealth for the unsuspecting investor and there are many companies and individuals who prey on peoples trust and do not have your best interest at heart. As wealth creation specialists, you can be assured we will put your interest first. In addition we carry insurance to ensure you are protected should somethng unforeseen go wrong.

Don't risk you and your families future! Deal with a firm you can trust!

Investment

Invest with confidence with a firm you can trust. We professionally research and analyse the plethora of investment opportunities available and help you to understand what risks you may be exposed to.

Talk to us today about investments for you!

Superannuation

There are many tax benefits offered by the superannuation system in Australia. Tax on super funds earnings is limited to a maximum of 15% but this rate can be reduced further by using the right types of investments. This is why many people use super to reduce their personal income tax and capital gains tax they will pay in the future.

Account Based Pensions

Once you have reached your preservation age (55 for those born before 1960), you are able to begin to access an extremely tax-effective income stream by way of superannuation savings. This can be done by converting your super to an Account Based or Allocated Pension. Account Based Pensions are considered to be one of the most tax-effective and popular retirement products available.

Talk to us today for professional advice before undertaking any strategies!

Shares

Shares can be a fantastic investment if approached correctly. They can be fraught with danger if appropriate measures are not followed. It is vital to do thorough research. We have a team of analysts that enable us to gain direct access to management and financial information of a company. This helps you to know whether you should invest or not. Having very clear goals and understanding the outcomes you want to achieve from share investment is vital. We help people to navigate their way through these issues to ensure they do not expose themselves to excessive risks.

Property

We have access to the very best property research and professional agents. We work with you to find the best property for you. We consider and advise on property cycles and provide in depth research, so you can make an informed decision. Many of the properties we access do not get advertised. We can assist you to access the very best developer stock of property investments in Australia.

Bonds and Fixed Interest

Bonds and fixed interest investments include Government, Semi-Government and Corporate bonds. They also can include certificates of deposit, commercial paper and money market investments. We have access to a wide range of the very best options available. Some of these are not available to the general public. Let us advise you on the best way to access these.

Cash

Investments into cash can vary from everyday ‘at call’ savings accounts, high interest cash accounts, cash management accounts and term deposits. It can also include cash held within managed funds or share trading accounts. We can provide you access to the very best options.

Alternatives

Alternative investments are investments other than traditional shares, cash, bonds and property. Examples include hard and soft commodities, hedge funds, currency funds, managed futures, derivatives, private equity, assets such as gold and other precious metals and financial instruments such as options and futures.

Often Alternatives should feature in a well diversified portfolio but professional advice is essential so you can be made aware of the challenges of this asset class and the risks you are adopting before investing in these types of investments.

Managed Funds

Managed funds allow investors to pool their money in investments which are to be managed by a professional fund manager. The fund manager develops guidelines to purchase assets. These can include shares, property, cash, fixed interest.

Investors buying into a managed fund typically buy units based on the amount they wish to invest and the unit price on that particular day.

We have access to and provide the very best independent research on a wide range of managed funds. If you are looking for an investment which offers diversification and a professional active management, we can help guide you.

Exchange Traded and Smart Beta Funds (ETF's)

An Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) is a diversified portfolio of securities constructed often replicating a particular index and is traded ona Stock Exchange.

Developments in this area have seen “Smart Beta” strategies evolve. This is where a particular theme is followed whether it be technology, health care, or other sectors of the market.

We provide advice and research on the available options and the relevant suitability of these for investors.

Managed Accounts (MDA’s, IMA’s, SMA's)

Managed Accounts have grown in popularity recently. There are reasons for this popularity including, transparency of holdings, direct beneficial ownership, reduced fees, effective management of tax outcomes and professional management.

We can help you to assess the best options.

Self Managed Super

We offer an end to end solution to assist you to take control of your own super. Life Assets and Super Admin Solutions Pty Ltd (SAS) work together to enable you to establish your fund, combine your assets to reduce costs and successfully manage and meet all compliance obligations of confidently running your own super fund.

Take control of your super today by establishing your own self managed super fund!

What is a Self Managed Superannuation Fund?

A Self Managed Super Fund (SMSF) is a special trust which is established under the legislation relating to Superannuation Funds—known as the Superannuation (Industry) Supervision Act 1993.

The fund can have up to a total of four members so you can combine your super assets with others helping to reduce fees. Members become the Trustees of the Fund and make decisions relating to the investments and other management aspects of the fund.

Almost anyone can set up a self managed fund, including employees, self-employed people, a director of a private company, a non-working spouse, or someone with existing super assets or about to receive a retirement or redundancy package.

Why have a Self Managed Superannuation Fund?

There are many benefits of having your own SMSF. Some of the most important include:

  • You make your own decisions on the fund's investments. You can make all the key decisions especially how, where and when your money is invested. You may also switch or modify your investments as and when you see fit.
  • The investments can cover a wide range including property, shares, cash deposits, managed investments etc.
  • It is possible to have your life insurance policies paid by the fund, with a resulting tax benefit. This can help in establishing a more tax effective structure for your family in the event of your premature death.
  • With a tax rate limited to a maximum of 15%, superannuation already offers very favourable tax treatment. SMSFs allow you to plan your investments to be more tax effective for the individual members of the fund. Franking credits from dividend payments can reduce the 15% tax rate on fund income significantly.
  • The costs are usually significantly lower than belonging to a public fund run by a bank, insurance company or fund manager. You can save a great deal of money by managing your own super by sharing running costs between the members.
  • For those moving from the accumulation phase to the retirement phase, the advantage of simply re-arranging your assets within the fund without the need to sell any existing assets is of great benefit.

If you are considering establishing a self-managed super fund, contact us today.

Insurance

There are many events that could cause a serious disruption to you or your family’s lifestyle. In our experience these disruptions have serious financial and emotional consequences and usually occur when you least expect it.

Ensuring your family can continue if you don’t gives tremendous peace of mind. Ensuring you can continue to generate an income is vital. Losing your ability to earn may have serious consequences on your long term financial security.

Let us review your current arrangements, compare the options available and guide you on what you need.

Life Insurance

Life cover provides your dependants with a lump sum benefit upon your death. This lump sum can be used to eliminate debt, cover final expenses, and future living expenses of your surviving dependants.

Total and Permanent Disablement (TPD) Insurance

TPD insurance provides you with a lump sum payment in the event that you become seriously ill or injured and are unlikely to ever be able to work again. If you are totally and permanently disabled, it is likely that you will not be fully mobile or may require special nursing care. It may also help to eliminate debt and provide future income. It may also provide funding for home and vehicle modifications or nursing care costs to lessen the possible burden on your family members.

Trauma Insurance

Trauma, or Critical illness insurance, pays you a lump sum in the event that you are diagnosed with a specified illness or injury. These funds can be used to eliminate or reduce debt, cover treatment costs, or for any other purpose required to ease the burden. Overall we are living longer but suffering more health issues.

Income Protection Insurance

A comprehensive income protection policy can replace the majority of your income and 100% of your super in the event of illness or accident that prevents you from working either temporarily or permanently. In the event that you are temporarily disabled, you will need to fund the same expenses as usual despite the loss of income.

Lending

Need finance to purchase a home, an investment property, shares, a motor vehicle or a business? Life Assets team of experts can assist you to access innovative and flexible lending solutions from a very diverse range of providers.

Our specialist finance consultants are available to ensure you obtain the right finance for your needs.

Contact us now for help.

Estate Planning

We believe it is important for everyone to have their Estate Planning needs thoroughly addressed. It is highly recommended you consult with a solicitor to ensure you have appropriate Wills, Powers of Attorney, Health Directives and Testamentary Trusts established where appropriate. It is important that these documents be set up correctly and reviewed regularly to ensure that the transition is as smooth as possible.

We facilitate this for our clients via our estate planning service and we can assist you to properly execute these documents.

Contact us now for a comprehensive estate planning report.

Wills

Your Will is the last directive you can give regarding the distribution of your assets and liabilities upon your death. An executor, or preferably more than one executor, should be appointed to avoid problems in the administration of your estate and the Will should be reviewed regularly to ensure it still meets your wishes and matches any change in financial or family circumstances. It is important to note that a validly created Will may be deemed invalid if you have had a major change in personal circumstances since the Wills establishment.

We recommend you continually review your Will arrangements to ensure your wishes will be maintained upon your deaths.

Enduring Power of Attorney

An important aspect of any Estate Plan is a valid Power of Attorney. This is where you give written authorisation to allow a person or organisation to act on another’s behalf in private affairs, business or some other legal matter. If granted the attorney has the authority to make decisions, sign documents and generally act on another’s behalf. A Power of Attorney may only be granted if the person assigning the Power of Attorney (“grantor”) has physical and mental capacity to do so and ceases the moment the person no longer has capacity.

An Enduring Power of Attorney is one that remains in force irrespective of your physical or mental condition but will cease when you die. You may revoke an Enduring Power of Attorney at any time. In appointing an Enduring Power of Attorney you are giving them the power to perform tasks such as:

  • Dealing with your bank accounts including transferring money out of your account.
  • Selling your home or other property.
  • Dealing with the shares you own, whether the company be private or publicly listed.
  • Taking over the operation and control of a business when you are the sole shareholder.
  • Making decisions regarding your personal maintenance such as where you live and what you do on a day to day basis once you have lost the capacity to make those decisions for yourself.
  • You must carefully consider the power that you are granting to your Attorney. If you are not precise you may find yourself in a situation where your Attorney's powers are either above or beyond your intentions.

For example, if you provide your Attorney with the capacity to make decisions regarding your financial affairs then your Attorney has the power to deal with your property or finances. This includes selling property, managing investments and shares, and accessing cash to pay bills.

If it is not your intention to allow your Attorney to deal with your property then you can limit the Attorney’s power by specifically excluding that right in the Enduring Power of Attorney.

We are happy to arrange this for you via our estate planning service whereby Enduring Powers of Attorney will be drafted and we will assist you to properly execute these documents.

Testamentary Trust

In simple terms, a testamentary trust is created through a person’s Will and is an arrangement that entails a person – the trustee – holding particular assets for the benefit of another – namely the beneficiary – as per the terms set out by the trustor of the trust, until a certain time.

Following on from the above definition, there are several parties involved in a testamentary trust:

  1. The trustor – This is the person who elects to create the trust.
  2. The trustee – This is the person who administers the Will as per the instructions in the Will.
  3. The beneficiary or beneficiaries – This is the person or people who will receive the assets held by the trust.
  4. The appointor – This is the person with the capacity to remove and appoint a trustee. The previously mentioned ‘particular assets’ may include anything accumulated for the estate of the trustor in the course of their lifetime (e.g. investment properties), or assets attained as a consequence of the trustor’s passing (e.g. the proceeds from a term life insurance policy).

It is not until the death of the trustor that the trust is in effect, and how the trust is in effect is dependent upon the terms outlined in the Will. However, it is important to note that a testamentary trust may be of the discretionary type and consequently the distribution of the assets is at the trustee’s discretion, and may not necessarily reflect the contents of the Will. Furthermore, given that the appointor has the capacity to remove and appoint a trustee, it would be wise to nominate a ‘third party’ as the appointer to ensure impartiality in the appointment of the trustee and the distribution of the assets.

So why create a testamentary trust?

There are various reasons why an individual chooses a testamentary trust over other estate planning vehicles, and the reasons largely relate to personal circumstances, tax advantages and asset protection. The reasons for establishing a testamentary trust are largely associated with the advantages this vehicle affords a beneficiary.

Beneficiary Nominations

Ensuring all your beneficiary designations and nominations are up to date and correctly completed is vital to ensure the right beneficiary gets what you want them to have. These must be reviewed regularly and we can assist with advice as to how best to arrange your nominations.

Advanced Health Directive

Enduring Powers of Attorney do not allow the attorney to make specific medical decisions that withdraw or withhold life sustaining treatment on your behalf. If you become seriously ill, unconscious or are unable to communicate your health care wishes, critical decisions may need to be made. You can make an advance health directive to make your wishes known in case you are in this situation. It is recommended that this be done with the assistance of a medical practitioner.

Binding Financial Agreement

A Binding Financial Agreement is a written agreement, which complies with Part VIIIA or Part VIIIAB of the Family Law Act 1975 (“the act”). Financial agreements deal with the often difficult issue of how to divide property and financial resources in the event of a relationship breakdown. Known more commonly as a Property Settlement Agreement, cohabitation agreement, pre nuptial agreement (prenup, pre nuptual), post nuptial agreements (postnup), or separation agreement and divorce agreements. Amendments to the Family Law Act which came into effect on the 1st March 2009 now make it possible for all couples to make a financial agreement, whether they be hetero defacto, same sex de facto or married.

Financial agreements allow a couple to decide in advance what would be a fair division of their assets, as an alternative to the costly option of having the courts impose a solution.

Our Services

"Life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans." - John Lennon

Our services are aimed at assisting you through all the different stages of your life:

  • Wealth Creation
  • Debt Management
  • Superannuation
  • Private or Self-managed Superannuation Funds
  • Retirement Planning
  • Redundancy Advice
  • Advice on Direct Share Investing
  • Insurance
  • Estate Planning
  • Finance
  • Property
  • Accounting Services
  • Ongoing Services