Heard about compound interest? It can be a friend or a foe, and if you have a savings account and a mortgage like most Australians, then compound interest has already had an impact on your finances – for better or worse. Compound interest is a powerful tool that can work for you, or against you…
Articles by Ken Raiss
Ken is director of Metropole Wealth Advisory and gives strategic expert advice to property investors, professionals and business owners. He is in a unique position to blend his skills of accounting, wealth advisory, property investing, financial planning and small business. View his articles
Attention property investors: your friends at the Australian Taxation Office might be taking an a much closer look at your tax return than you will be comfortable with this year. Assistant tax commissioner Gavin Siebert said the tax office has made property rental deductions a top priority this tax time explaining that… “A random sample…
When is the most tax effective time to undertake a renovation? You’ll find out as you watch this week’s Ask the Tax Expert video as Ken Raiss answers Lynda’s question about when is the best time to renovate her new home that she’s buying using a First Home Owner’s Grant. You see…she plans to make…
Did you know that only 300,000 or so people own two investment properties in Australia? The number who owns three or more falls dramatically from the figure. However, more and more people are taking charge of their financial futures by buying investment-grade real estate assets. Like so many things with wealth creation, though, there are…
Sometimes life doesn’t work out the way we would like it to. Despite our best efforts or best intentions, we find ourselves in strife. Many Australians know what I’m talking about. While we have it pretty good in this country, we’re also a nation up to its eyeballs in debt. If this debt gets out…
The use of Self-Managed Superannuation Funds (SMSF) has skyrocketed over the past decade in particular. Among the many reasons for this increase is the ability to purchase residential property in your SMSF with borrowings – debt via what’s called a Limited Recourse Borrowing Arrangement, or LRBA. In essence, the LRBA structure allows an SMSF to…
You’ve probably heard that most wealthy people own nothing in their own names, but control everything through structures such as a trust. If Australia’s richest people use trusts, maybe it’s something you should consider also. Did you know that trusts have been around since the 12th Century? The Lord Chancellor at that time could decide…
While modern life is exceptionally busy, any decent Financial Adviser will tell you that today is the best time to start planning for your retirement; the earlier you plan, the better placed you will be to enjoy it. With life expectancy at its highest recorded level there are a lot of years to fill between…
Australian Tax Office (ATO) data shows that only 9% per cent of investors own three or more properties. So, if property was such a good investment, why do many stop at one? Unfortunately, most people simply buy the wrong property, buy emotively, sell quickly and never buy again, or stubbornly hold onto it hoping things…
Insurance is one of those things that some people mistakenly think isn’t worth the cost. Unfortunately that’s why too many people choose not to take out appropriate insurance cover to insure their assets as well as their incomes. Thankfully, when it comes to insuring their homes, most Australians wisely choose to do so. And…
