Hello and welcome to this month's edition of Investment insights.

With the end of financial year rapidly approaching, many people will either start to think or read about year end tax strategies. This will include things like making superannuation contributions and prepaying interest on investment loans. However as you consider these action items, you should begin to think about what the key purpose of your strategy should be. As the old saying goes, failing to plan is planning to fail. This idea is reflected in research findings from a survey conducted by BlackRock and is highlighted in this piece from the U.K.'s Telegraph newspaper. What research found was that those who take financial planning seriously, 55% are more positive and 58% feel more in control of their financial future. The survey also identified that a key catalyst for many was a milestone birthday so if you have one of those coming up, now is the time to think about your plan for the future.

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Of course having a plan is only the first step, implementing it and adhering to it is when you will see real results. Most often the biggest hurdle for anyone with a plan is dealing with the ups and downs of their investment or superannuation portfolio. So once you have a plan and have begun making investments for your future, take a look at this article from Abnormal Returns titled "Four building blocks for investment success". The key message in this piece is that once you have established your plan and goals and made sensible long-term investments, you need the discipline to maintain perspective and a long-term view.

Finally, once you have the plan and a strategy for implementation, maintaining it may cause issues. Daniel Minihan, our Director of Wealth Management, wrote recently about how the principles of Desire, Dedication, Determination and Discipline that were the mantra of the late Tommy Hafey, can be applied to anything you do in life including building a plan for the future. Keeping with the AFL theme you may also like to read an another article written by Daniel earlier this year which was inspired by the great John Kennedy speech Don't Think....Do. This article provides you with some insight and ideas about how to start putting your goals and objectives together to form the basis of a plan.

If you would like to discuss your portfolio or any aspect of your financial affairs, click on the links below to contact one of our advisors today.

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