Behind the scenes with our CFG team

Here comes the sun!

With Spring in the air, and more sunshine in our days, we continue to prioritise internal growth in 2023, alongside team training and development, ensuring we have the right people to remain ahead of the game in technology, compliance and service excellence. 

Introducing CFG newcomer, Charade;

Charade holds a Bachelor of Education, and is a licensed teacher, but decided to try a different career path and passion. With close to 5 years’ experience as a Client Services Manager in financial services, Charade enjoys working across client onboarding, implementation, right through to compliance. Charade has found working in the industry, within a high-level administrative role, both challenging and fulfilling.

An update from abroad

Senior Associate, Rex Jelbart, made the Winter months feel that much longer at CFG with his enviable Instagram posts wining, dining and sunning his way through Europe.  The newlyweds were recently residing in Prague and Berlin, with India another incoming adventure, and one of the final destinations before their return home to Australia mid-October.  We have all missed Rex in-office... no one more than Ben!

AZ NGA Future Leaders Program

As one of the key players at Cranage today, Senior Lending Consultant - Jerome Mendis, has been attending a series of courses designed to enhance and nurture the skills required to be a leader and manage a high-performance team.  The Future Leaders program has been developed by AZ NGA with the aim of ‘recognising, retaining and rewarding the next generation of business owners.’ 

Here is a little insight into his experience within the program so far;

‘While the learning and development components have been impressive, and the presentations engaging, I’ve really valued the opportunity to meet and mix with peers within the different AZ NGA firm groups, as well as the AZ NGA team themselves.  You could really feel that everyone was committed to the cause, but at the same time more than happy to share experiences, problem solve and collaborate with fellow attendees.’

Jerome Mendis
Senior Lending Consultant

Advisers Messages 

Know with confidence your information is safe:  Are you using our Client Portal?

With security continuing to be a major concern for clients, Cranage Financial Group has made the proactive decision to enhance our relationship with My Prosperity and move client data to bank level security. Portal Security Brochure Download 

Alongside security, this all-in-one client portal has innovative, digital tools at your fingertips.  Here are some of the key features and functions;

Secure Data Collection: 
Up to date cloud access to all your financial information, including your assets and liabilities.  Your data is secure, and you can enable multi-factor authentication on your wealth portal for further peace of mind. 

Cashflow management: 
Keep track of your cash flow with the auto-categorisation of income and expenses.  Track every dollar in and out and watch tax time preparation become a breeze with tax tagging on transactions across all your accounts.

Secure Document Storage:
Store sensitive documents in one secure place, where you can gain access to them at all times.  This includes insurance policies and Wills, with the ability to produce an Executor’s kit.

Digital Document Signing:  
Save time and a say goodbye to your printer, with paperless digital document signing anytime, anywhere.  Digital signatures are a quick, easy and secure way to sign important documents for your adviser.

Cranage on your phone and on the go: 
Connect with your adviser and request services.

Not using our client portal or need help navigating through the key features available to you!? Simply download our app, sign-in and work with your advisory team create access to your whole financial world (online) today!  

‘The client portal has become an essential technology platform in our business to achieve streamlined and secure data collection and collaboration with valued clients.  Our strategy is to have 100% of Cranage clients using this tool’.

Sam Cranage
Director | Senior Private Wealth Adviser 

Economic and Market Observations 

Latest monthly update, as of 31 August 2023 

1 Bloomberg AusBond Bank 0+Y TR AUD, 2 Bloomberg AusBond Composite 0+Y TR AUD, 3 Inter Bloomberg Barclays Global Aggregate TR Hdg AUD, 4 S&P/ASX All Ordinaries TR, 5 national Shares Index, 6 Vanguard Intl Shares Index Hdg AUD TR, 7 Vanguard Emerging Markets Shares Index, 8 FTSE Developed Core Infrastructure 50/50 NR AUD, 9 S&P/ASX 300 AREIT TR, 10 FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Global REITs NR AUD, 11 LMBA Gold Price AM USD, 12 Bloomberg Sub WTI Crude Oil TR USDVanguard

Source: Centrepoint Research Team, Morningstar Direct

How did we close out the 2023 financial year?

Quarter Update, June Quarter 2023

In a year that seems to have no dull moments, equity markets stayed relatively flat for most of the last quarter of the 2023 Financial Year.

However, in late May and June, it was entirely different for the United States (U.S.), which saw an 8.3% increase for the quarter.  Europe (1.9%), Australia (0.4%), and Emerging Markets (-0.1%) experienced much more subdued changes to close out the Financial Year.

The drivers of these late-quarter returns were initially the mega-cap growth stocks in the U.S. However, a broader rally across various sectors, sizes, and styles of stocks took place through June, buoyed by growing confidence in the U.S. economy.

The NASDAQ set a record for half-yearly returns since its inception in 1985, achieving approximately a 39% increase during the first half of 2023 - a remarkable feat given the backdrop of an uncertain economic environment. Companies like Apple, Microsoft, Tesla, Netflix, and Amazon were primarily responsible for this surge, illustrating the trend that 'the big keep getting bigger'.  Meanwhile, other markets remained flat as the focus stayed firmly on the uncertain monetary policy.

Outlook

The global macroeconomic picture continues to be marred by the already evident and future impacts from the record-breaking interest rate hiking cycle that has taken place in most major economies (except Japan).  As we've stated for some time now, the impacts on economic growth will continue to be felt in economies until central banks shift their focus more towards rate cuts. However, that could still be a while away.  Interestingly, there is substantial evidence suggesting that the worst of the inflationary crisis is behind us. 

As we've previously discussed, we anticipated inflation would start to ease due to signs of both supply coming back online and demand cooling. The U.S.'s headline inflation rate (including volatile food and energy prices) is now sitting at 3.1%. This is nearly a full retracement from the 9.1% figure seen last year. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, remains high but is trending downward. In Australia, we lagged the U.S. on the way up and will likely do the same on the way down. We expect this number to continue to gradually fall from the current elevated 7% level.

Before the war on inflation can be declared 'won', central banks will need to see these numbers fall and stay low. There's a good chance we may see some unexpected inflationary spikes as we journey back towards 2% (the central bank targets).

So, where does this leave fixed income, equity markets, and the economy as a whole?

Fixed income remains suppressed, but in our opinion, provides good value at these prices. If the global economy continues to slow, which we anticipate it will, bonds should offer some protection against this.  The key point to remember is that interest rates can't stay at these elevated levels forever. Some relief will have to come in the future.

Equity markets are a mixed bag as falling rates would be seen as positive, but economic slowdowns will reduce earnings. We remain generally cautious here and believe different pockets of the market will perform better than others at different times.  We didn't expect a 39% increase in the Nasdaq this year, though. Keep in mind that this was primarily driven by the FAANG stocks, which soared on the back of cooling inflation and AI-mania.

Maintaining diversification across regions, styles, and sectors should be employed here due to the unpredictability of future outcomes.  Our research indicates that it's wise to have a low-volatility manager within both domestic and international equity allocations to cushion against future volatility.  We are pairing this with both value and growth managers who focus on high-quality companies that tend to stay more resilient during economic downturns.

This update is issued by Centrepoint Alliance Limited and Ventura Investment Management Limited (AFSL 253045), which is a related body corporate of Centrepoint Alliance Limited. Detailed versions in links below.

Quarterly Market and Economic Update (June 2023)

Monthly Market Update (August 2023)

Introducing our new Investment Partner

At Cranage Private Wealth, we understand and appreciate the trust you place in us to guide you on your wealth creation journey. We are always looking at ways to ensure that we can offer you holistic solutions that enable you to continually live your potential.

Part of our commitment to you is to regularly review our investment solutions, to ensure our offering is best placed to navigate your financial goals and the market environment. We are acutely aware of current market conditions, and those that lie ahead. With this in mind, we have made the decision to partner with a new investment manager to support our comprehensive advice to you and to help oversee the CFG Investment Series - SMA Portfolios.

Following a rigorous and lengthy process, we are very excited to announce that our new Investment Partner will be Morningstar, a global leader in asset allocation and portfolio construction.

Please feel free to have a look at this brief video introducing our new Partner, Morningstar.

We look forward to speaking with you about this exciting next phase!

Finally, what about housing?

House prices have fallen from their peak in 2022, which is not surprising given the slackening demand as a result of higher mortgage rates.  Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed an annual 35 per cent drop in new investment loans earlier this year.  The consequent reduction in available rental properties has put upward pressure on rents which is good news if you have no loan, a small loan or a fixed interest loan on the property. The changing times in Australia’s economic fortunes can lead to concern about whether you have the right investment mix.  If you are unsure about your portfolio, then give us a call to discuss.

We hope you enjoyed our quarterly newsletter From Our Family to Yours.  Please contact our office if you would like to discuss anything in this edition on 03 9097 6000.

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.