Behind the scenes with our CFG team

A growing team of professionals!

March and April have been busy in HR, with three highly skilled recruits joining our CFG team. We’re excited to introduce you to our newcomers, who will be working hard for you behind the scenes;

Diomedes Macabebe Jr joins CFG as a skilled Team Administrator, bringing with him more than 4 years of industry experience within this role. ‘JR’, as he prefers to be called, enjoys working across all aspects of the client journey from onboarding to implementation, right though to compliance. Before stepping into this role in 2018, JR worked as a Senior Financial Analyst.

Ryan Fernandez began his career in financial planning in 2021, joining our advisory team in April as a full-time Paraplanner. He enjoys the detailed, and often complex, process of preparing documents such as Statement of Advice and Record of Advice, further developing his industry knowledge and skills, and is also experienced with high level administration tasks like advice implementation.

May Boquiron joined our team in April as a highly skilled Associate, with a Paraplanning focus. Having started working in the industry 2012, May has over 10 years of paraplanning experience and a Diploma in Financial Planning. She has grown to love the profession and has gained much confidence in evaluating and aligning strategies with client’s circumstances and goals, in every paraplanning tasks she works on.

Congratulations and Bon Voyage!
Senior Associate, Rex Jelbart, has a memorable year on the cards for 2023. Immersed in nature and surrounded by close friends and family, Rex married his long-term partner, Clare, on Friday the 31st of March in a picturesque ceremony on family-owned property in Geelong. Formalities were followed by a celebration that lasted the weekend, in true Rex and Clare style. The newlyweds are about to embark on an extended overseas adventure, travelling around Europe and India for 5 months from mid-May. We look forward to welcoming Rex back into the fold (and office) from mid-October. Travel safe Mr & Mrs Jelbart!

Advisers Messages

Federal Budget Summary - May 2023

On the evening of 9 May 2023, the Government delivered its second Budget in the current parliamentary term.

Inflationary pressures, interest rates and escalating cost of living have all had a significant impact on everyday Australians. The Budget needs to deliver the right balance of spending and savings, and this year has a strong emphasis on providing cost of living relief, strengthening Medicare, and investing in a stronger and more secure economy.

There were very few surprises, and most of the significant announcements had been made prior to the Budget being released. To dive deeper into the issues, please find a summary of the Federal Budget below. 

 Federal Budget Summary - May 2023.docx (live.com)

All Eyes on Interest Rates and Their Impacts

While they aren’t the only driver of the downturn, interest rates have played a major role in steering the ship. The rate rose at each subsequent meeting into the new year, with home loan lenders typically passing on the change in full, making the average variable rate mortgage significantly more expensive than it was at the start of 2022.

At its April 2023 meeting, the RBA board finally paused the cash rate hikes, temporarily holding it at 3.60%, but it raised again in May, bringing it to its current level of 3.85%. This move was a controversial one, with some in federal politics going as far as to call for Treasurer Jim Chalmers to use his powers to reverse the RBA’s latest decision, given the added pain it’s likely to bring to everyday Aussies.

It remains to be seen whether the RBA will begin to pump the brakes on the rate rises, or even announce rate cuts in months to come. Rather than dwelling on the unpredictable, let’s continue to focus on ensuring you are getting the best rate and facility best for you!

Speak to your Adviser or our resident Broker, Jerome Mendis at Cranage Lending Solutions;

t: 03 9097 6000
e: jerome@cranagegroup.com.au

Economic and Market Observations 

Financial Highlights

 Last Month, April 2023

A combination of declining inflation, expectations of a peak in central bank hawkishness and better than expected earnings results (in the US) helped push equity markets higher in April, despite lingering risks of recession.  Within Fixed Interest, the volatility in Australian and global bond markets witnessed in March subsided, with bond indices posting positive returns. Listed Property (particularly Australian Listed Property) reversed a material portion of the decline experienced in March, when the markets were in a risk-off mode following some global banking failures.

Quarter Update, March Quarter 2023 

The first Quarter of 2023 saw share markets with a strong quarter as a sign that inflation is moderating which gave hope that central banks will soon end one of the fastest interest rate hiking cycles on record. Volatility, however, increased in late in the quarter (March) amid news of banking system problems in the US and Switzerland. Two regional US banks collapsed and troubled Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse submitted to a forced takeover by rival UBS. These problems contributed to Australian Shares underperforming Global Shares over the quarter given a higher proportion of Financial Services companies in the Australia market that struggled in the fallout from the banking problems overseas. These struggles contributed to the Listed Property sector underperforming as investors worried about the risk of contagion to other smaller banks and to property valuations.

The Australian Dollar weakened over the quarter when compared to the US Dollar due to the widening interest rate differentials between the two countries (US having higher rates than Australia) and softening commodity prices tempering demand for the Australian Dollar. This resulted in unhedged International Shares outperforming International Shares hedged to the Australian Dollar.

Bond markets performed well during the quarter largely due to a couple of factors. Firstly, there were signs that inflation was starting to subside. Secondly, the potential risks stemming from the banking system made it more likely that central banks would wind down their aggressive cycle of interest rate rises earlier than previously thought.

We have also attached the detailed reports for your review.

Quarterly Market Report - March 2023

Zenith Monthly Market Report April 2023

Time To Update Your plans!

Steps to take to prepare for the end of financial year.

Whilst it's hard to believe, the end of the 2023 financial year is creeping up fast. Here are some areas that may need to be looked at:

• Maximize your Super contributions
• Prepaying income protection premiums
• After-tax Super contributions bring forward rule
• Downsizer contributions

The EOFY checklist will help you maximise 2023 FY! 

To ensure you are still employing the right strategy to meet your objectives, it pays to be aware of your options and revisit your comfort with risk and your overall goals.

Now is the time to ensure your plan is up to date!

With a range of ever-evolving services under one roof, your CFG team are here to provide the trusted advice and support you need to confidently step into the 2024 financial year and beyond.

Disclaimer

The information contained in this newsletter is of a general nature only and does not take into account your particular objectives, financial situation or needs. You should therefore consider the appropriateness of the advice for your situation before acting on it. You should obtain and consider the relevant Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and seek the assistance of an authorised financial adviser before making any decision regarding any products or strategies mentioned in this publication. This newsletter is a publication of CFG Advice Pty Ltd (AFSL 501857), While all care has been taken in the preparation of this newsletter, to the maximum extent permitted by law, no warranty is given in respect of the information provided and accordingly, CFG Advice and our employees shall be liable for any loss suffered arising from reliance on this information.