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Submitted by: Jim Stackpool

Since emerging close to a decade ago, the expression Wealth Management has developed into a sort of default moniker for a wide range of financial services and offerings, similar to climate change , fat-reduced , and social networking . The phrase has been used (and abused) by a number of commentators on our industry, routinely as if it described what all financial services professionals do for a living. I believe financial planners desperately need to have a better moniker.

Unfortunately, from the eyes of most people, commentators and even industry participants, the core proposition of wealth management has come to represent the infinite and often circular chasing of larger financial returns.

Wealth management is much more than having the best financial returns and procuring services at the cheapest feasible price.

Despite the similar amounts of money being invested on financial products, they aren t like the cars or houses consumers purchase due to the fact financial products don t depreciate according to use. Rather, financial products depreciate based on the known and unknown changes in our lives, and dependant on the unseen influences of legislation, markets, as well as a active product development production line that may be hurried along by intelligent actuaries cramming more profits from better products.

The core promise of wealth management has to be the delivery of greater economic certainty, rather than investing in today s cheapest or greatest performing products Purchasing well-performing products at competitive pricing is fairly important, but only in the context that the prices paid and products delivered present purchasers with higher certainty in their financial lives.

What I am saying is financial products are like medications, they do their job when correctly used on the appropriate ailment, for the appropriate amount of time, sadly with no an unbiased and experienced advisor, which in such a situation would be a certified Doctor, these medicines can do more harm than good. This can be exactly the same with financial products, they might well be the highest performing product at the moment, still if not applied for the relevant purpose for the ideal amount of time they could do more harm than good. In the situation of financial products the advisor is actually a experienced and up to date financial advisor that is not biased by the commissions he can get paid on the financial products he advises you to buy. Imagine if the doctor of medicine was making a commission on the prescription drugs he advised you to buy, imagine that he prescribed drugs for twice as long as you required them, or prescribed medicines that you didn’t need at all, or worse still, prescribed the wrong medications altogether just because he could make loads of money out of the commission. This of course does not occur in the healthcare profession, the law dictates that physicians can not make commissions on medicines and drug companies are not able to pay medical professionals commissions. However this is not the case in the financial advice industry, on the contrary, this is normal practice, and many people are left out of pocket when it comes to their retirement income. This practice could cost you thousands and thousands of dollars once you come to retirement age. It is time we all stood up and created some noise about this issue, the Australian government has to act to regulate this industry now.

In following instalments of this series of posts, we ll discuss:

why product rates and performances aren’t enough for wealth management (part 2);

what fine finance industry experts really do (part 3); and

what kind of new moniker the financial advice market needs (part 4).

About the Author: I want greater certainty in my financial life, I want to know what I am paying for, I want to know that my life is in order, I am not alone, I am like you. I am Jim Stackpool and I am creating an advice industry in Australia to give us all greater certainty in our financial lives, and in our lives in general. I train the advisors, show them how to move from selling financial products with hidden commissions to selling advice and being up front about the price. I am advising the government on cleaning up the advice industry so in the end we all benenfit. Call it a crusade if you like but I believe we all want and need greater certainty.Jim Stackpool is a

jimstackpool.com

commentator, an

jimstackpool.com

to the advisors and is today running a campaign he hopes will trigger the creation of a true advice industry, one which is not beholden to the banks that pay the commissions on the financial products currently being sold by so called advisors.

Source:

isnare.com

Permanent Link:

isnare.com/?aid=903671&ca=Finances

By Rachel Pinder

NASSAU, Bahamas – Buying property outside of the country often leaves many investors wondering where to begin. In the aftermath of the global recession, it is more important than ever for investors to understand the benefits of hiring a local real estate agent when the market is where it is.

Investors interested in buying property in the Bahamas, a country that took the recession as a time expand its infrastructure, will find the market is gradually recovering and there is a considerable amount of development in the vacation home market. With high yields on rental properties, tourist arrivals climbing and no income, sales or estate taxes, there are many advantages to investors looking to buy real estate.

“Before investors begin their search, they need to seriously consider if they have the time, resources and energy necessary to accomplish this,” said Rachel Pinder, principle broker at Island Living Real Estate, which specializes in Bahamas condo rental, Nassau apartment rentals and Bahamas rental houses. “If they do not, then they should consider turning to a local real estate agent who can make the whole process more manageable with the knowledge and experience their buyers need.”

Buying Process

Buyers must first determine their buying power by giving their agent basic information about available savings, income and debt. Their agent will then refer them to a lender that is best suited to help them get pre-qualified.

The buyer also needs to deicide if this will be short term or long term investment, whether they will be the landlords or if they will hire a property management company. And lastly, they need to decide which of the following they are more interested in: single-family homes, condos or apartments.

Once that decision has been made, the agent can begin to filter search results with parameters.

Market

Local agents are the experts in the market, they can tell buyers if the market is in an upward or downward trend, as well as job growth and tourism, which can determine the probability of a property staying rented.

Once investors are pre-qualified by their lender, the local agent will refine parameters to include the price range. Through their database, they can tell their buyers pertinent information such as school locations, zoning and utilities. Together, the buyer and the agent will begin touring properties to decide what they do and do not like.

Offers

Buyers can decide on a price that is likely to be accepted by the seller with the help of their agents database. They can conduct home sale searches that are equivalent in size, age and location to the home their buyer is interested in. They can compare what homes were sold for versus what they were listed at.

Financing terms, date of possession, the inclusion or exclusion of repairs, recommended or required investigations and inspections is best handled by a local agent.

Closing

This is where a local agent can really benefit a buyer as the closing process is conducted differently in every country. They can guide their buyer through the process and ensure that is runs as smoothly as possible.

About Island Living Real Estate

Island Living Real Estate has more than 25 years of experience in real estate sales and rentals throughout the Bahamas. Island Living’s main office is located in one of Nassau’s oldest historic buildings on Bay Street, named “Red Roofs.” Red Roofs was built in 1896 and has been home to various families, a Gourmet Deli and now Island Living.

2011 Master Google and Island Living Real Estate. Authorization to post is granted, with the stipulation that Master Google, a company that monitors SEO sites to track trends and new techniques for its clients, is credited as the sole source. Linking to other sites from this press release is strictly prohibited, with the exception of herein imbedded links.

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About the Author: If you would like to learn more about

Bahamas rental

and Nassau

apartment rentals

or you want to know more about Bahamas

rental houses

call 1-242-322-7979.

Source:

isnare.com

Permanent Link:

isnare.com/?aid=1121805&ca=Real+Estate