TRADE SECRETS
IN THIS ISSUE
- Welcome to 2024 – Market Outlook
- Client Profile – Tony & Denise Harford – Clients of GFM Since 1999
- Staff Profile – Patrick Malcolm
- Help Your Loved Ones Prepare For The Unexpected
- Upcoming Seminar: Estate Planning – Creating Certainty
- Stage Three Tax Cut Changes
- Adviser Predictions for 2024
- Introducing – Ethan Hardeman
- Christmas Cards & Charitable Donations
WELCOME TO 2024:
MARKET OUTLOOK
By James Malliaros
Welcome to our first newsletter of 2024. We hope you had a safe and enjoyable festive season, and we hope the year has started well for you. Our staff enjoyed an extended rest over the New Year, with our office not opening until Monday, January 8.
November and December of 2023 saw a ‘risk on’ rally, generating exceptionally strong returns in the December 2023 quarter (see chart below) in almost all asset classes except Chinese Equities.
The US S&P 500 had one of its top 20 best monthly performances in its history in November, up over 9% in AUD. This dominated the quarter and greatly assisted the performance of most other asset classes, such as the US market’s dominance on general sentiment.
Australian small caps and equities were among the best–performing asset classes for the quarter, as has been gold, buoyed by an unsteady geopolitical environment.
Mainstream Asset Class Returns for Quarter
After the strong returns of 2023, markets expect much good news in 2024 – aggressive easing from the US Fed, no recession, and inflation continuing to track back to target.
Looking forward to 2024, we look at the big issues impacting market returns:
1. Will disinflation continue to surprise to the upside?
The Fed has succeeded more than other central banks in bringing down inflation while maintaining economic growth. Supply chain improvements have delivered easy gains, but the Fed has benefitted from well-anchored inflation expectations.
Recent data has been mixed but supports the market’s belief that disinflation will facilitate rate cuts in the US.
US December CPI came in a bit stronger than expected, with the headline index up 0.3% month-on-month – driven partly by electricity prices. However, there was sufficient ambiguity for markets to largely brush off the reading.
The continued drop in fuel prices and rents should help the headline CPI continue to fall. However, Core CPI rose 0.31% month–on–month. The Goods component was flat month–on–month following six months of decline. The question is whether this signals an end to goods deflation, which has played an important role in positive inflation surprises.
The recent weakening of the USD and the issues in the Red Sea may also be factors that could lead to an end of goods price deflation, so this remains an issue to watch.
The market has priced a 65% probability of a March rate cut in the US, with 165bps of easing expected for the year. If this does not occur, or inflation starts to tick back up again, markets could be disappointed.
2. Will the US economy continue to grow?
This question, alongside the first, will likely drive the outlook for rates and corporate earnings.
The US has done incredibly well to avoid a recession despite the common consensus that this would occur.
Percentage change in quarterly US GDP growth
Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis
US jobless claims have remained benign, with initial applications near historic low levels and continuing to hold flat.
This reiterates constructive employment data from the week before and helps underpin the economy. Anecdotes from retailers indicate a late surge in Christmas spending, which held up well overall.
The consensus expectation is 0.7% GDP growth in 2024. However, the upside risk comes from higher consumer demand – benefiting from real disposable income growth and support from easing financial conditions.
3. China’s ability to sustain moderate growth
Real-time indicators suggest the Chinese economy has started 2024 softer.
Consumers continue to lack confidence, with the gap between retail sales growth and the pre-Covid trend widening. This is tied to a weak property market.
Inflation data also remains weak, which leaves scope for continued policy stimulus driven by a supportive fiscal situation.
China is a big watch for Australia, especially regarding the demand for Australian commodity producers.
China’s Growth Trajectory is a Challenge
Source: OECD Data as of 30 September 2023
4. Will the US/Global Markets continue to outperform?
The United States is one of the largest and most diverse economies globally, driven by technological innovation, entrepreneurship and a robust consumer market. In 2024, US economic growth and technology leadership will likely drive better returns than other global equity markets. We continue to see the US equity market as a growth–centred economy relative to other regions around the globe.
5. Will the excitement around Artificial Intelligence (AI) continue to grow?
Generative AI represents the next major computing platform shift and will likely be a multi-trillion-dollar investment opportunity over the next decade. In 2024, early AI applications will enter the consumer and enterprise use market. In the long term, generative AI has the potential to accelerate productivity growth, drive margin expansion for many companies, and be a tailwind for economic growth. This could lead to a golden period of market returns over the next five years.
6. Australia’s ability to engineer a soft landing
The domestic economy is in the middle of an inflation-induced downturn.
However, the worst of it is expected to pass shortly, and a recovery will likely accelerate in the second half of 2024. Australian monthly CPI for November was lower than market expectations, up 0.33% month–on–month and 4.3% year–on–year.
Business conditions remain sound in Australia, and unemployment is low. House prices did not decline in 2023 as predicted; median house prices rose in Australia. Consumer spending didn’t falter in the face of higher prices or due to the depletion of savings accumulated during the pandemic. Also, higher interest rates did not see households or businesses defaulting on their debts at abnormal rates. The Australian economy appears to have overcome the worst–case scenario and is well–positioned for accelerated growth later in 2024.
7. Beyond the Magnificent Seven – Can Global Market Returns Expand?
The often–called “Magnificent Seven”, a group comprising Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla, dominated US market returns in 2023 (see below).
S&P 500 Index, Magnificent Seven and S&P 500 ex–Magnificent Seven –01/01/2023 – 30/11/2023
Source: FactSet
A narrow group of mega-cap growth stocks, these companies offered strong cash flows, competitive strength, and Generative AI exposure. While these companies are undisputed market leaders, is the relative outperformance level for these stocks sustainable? In our opinion, the outperformance of such a narrow group of companies has created an opportunity for active managers who can look beyond the benchmarks. We see 2024 as a year where market breadth will expand and small, mid and large-cap companies will take the spotlight.
Tony & Denise Harford:
CLIENTS OF GFM SINCE 1999
By Patrick Malcolm
Tony has kindly written the article on their working life, retirement and relationship with GFM Wealth Advisory. We greatly appreciate Tony’s contribution to Trade Secrets.
I was working at Diners Club International on the next corner to the previous GFM premises at 1221 Toorak Road, Hartwell, after 26 years in the airline industry, starting with TAA (Trans Australia Airlines). TAA changed its name to Australian Airlines in 1986 and was merged with Qantas in 1992.
I was fortunate to have occupied senior management positions with Qantas. However, after my position was relocated to Sydney in 1998, I received a considerable redundancy package and some superannuation payouts and rollovers.
Those funds were sitting in a bank account being frittered away – not frivolously, but on everyday living stuff.
I had no plan for my impending retirement – I had no financial plan. Knowing this wasn’t a financially healthy position, we needed help.
In Sam Eley’s video clip on the GFM Wealth website, Sam says that most clients present themselves in a ‘vulnerable state’. That was us. Exactly. We were vulnerable. Even desperate.
So, I plucked up the courage to walk up the stairs and into the GFM office and asked to see someone. The rest, as they say, is history.
It was 1999 – 24 years ago. I was 52 years of age.
But, I was too young and, at that stage, not financially secure enough to retire fully.
Subsequently, I became involved in corporate governance. I was the Victorian Manager of the Australian Institute of Company Directors before becoming one of its course facilitators – a role I enjoyed for 14 years.
Concurrently, I became involved with the Community Bank operation of Bendigo Bank, first as a director of a Community Bank company in Rye, Victoria, and then as a member of the Community Bank National Council – a position I held for three years.
I finished my involvement with Bendigo and Adelaide Bank as a Community Bank mentor in March 2023.
I’m now 76 and in full retirement.
We have been blessed with five fantastic children (we still call them ‘our kids’, although they are now into their forties and fifties) and ten amazing grandchildren to whom we are, fortunately, very close and who manage to keep our minds alert and our bodies young (well, relatively speaking).
After 15 years on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula (Sorrento and Mornington), Denise and I recently moved into a retirement resort (in Woodend in Victoria’s Macedon Ranges)—a tree change from a sea change.
We enjoy good health, and Denise loves her line dancing and socialising. I maintain a healthy interest in reducing my golf handicap at Gisborne Golf Club.
One of our daughters, her husband, and three of our grandchildren live in Michigan, USA, and we enjoy travelling to see them as often as possible.
As our Macedon Ranges can get quite cold in winter, to escape, we head north to Coolum on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast to beat the worst of it. So far, it seems to have worked.
Let me make no bones about it – we would not be in the relatively comfortable financial position to enjoy our retirement that we are in today had it not been for the intervention of Tony and, more recently, Patrick and the whole team at GFM.
This firm and its people have been our financial saviours, and we could not be more grateful.
I am so grateful that we have introduced five clients to the firm at last count, not by hot gospelling. Just by responding to the question “Do you know anyone who can?” by suggesting they contact GFM, arrange an introduction, and let circumstances take their course.
All five of those couples have benefitted from GFM’s expertise and guidance and are still with the firm today. More importantly, they still talk to us. Everyone is a winner in this situation.
We cherish many factors in our relationship with GFM Wealth Advisory.
Firstly, the team.
We continue to be treated more like family than customers by Patrick, Mai, Witi, Annie and Jacqui – indeed, the whole GFM team. Their long service records make it clear that the firm operates with a strong, stable culture from which we, as customers, strongly benefit.
Secondly, their expertise. The fact that GFM continues to be recognised as a leader in its specialty field of SMSF by its peers speaks volumes about its expertise. Paul’s recognition as one of Australia’s top 100 advisors in The Barron’s List reflects on Paul and the whole team who works with him.
Thirdly, we think that GFM demonstrates exceptional integrity in its business affairs, exemplified by its decision to apply for its own Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL). This means that GFM is not beholden to any other financial institution.
Similarly, their ‘fee for service’ pricing methodology means that GFM is not influenced by whoever pays them the highest commission – it is what is best for us that drives their decisions on our behalf.
It has been over ten years since GFM acquired Gruchy Accounting to form GFM Gruchy Accounting, and, as customers, we continue to benefit from the expertise and guidance Andrew, Ivan, and Phil provided. Our previous taxation affairs were a little messy. However, with Andrew’s intervention, they’re now on the proper and pain-free path.
This ‘one-stop-shop’ approach to managing financial affairs makes sense for us.
We believe that the most valuable deliverable provided to us by GFM Wealth is confidence. Confidence that our best interests are foremost in GFM’s management of our affairs. Confidence that our retirement funds are managed following our risk profile and financial goals. Confidence that we can live our retirement years without suffering unnecessary financial stress.
Like most things in life, whenever you’re stuck – reach out.
We’re very glad that we reached out when we did and found GFM Wealth. We have no hesitation in recommending them to anyone who might find themselves in a situation similar to what we were in 24 years ago.
staff profile:
Patrick Malcolm
By Paul Nicol
It only feels like yesterday that a fresh-faced work experience kid attended the GFM offices for the first time in the July school holidays of 2000. That fresh-faced 16-year-old “kid” was Patrick Malcolm. After being asked to return more permanently in December 2001, Patrick has reached more than 20 years of employment at GFM.
I feel incredibly privileged to be part of GFM Wealth’s significant 50th-anniversary milestone.
I was fortunate to undertake my work experience at the firm in July 2000. Paul Nicol, our Managing Partner, was my under-16s cricket coach, for those who don’t know. Paul was only 23 at the time as well! He knew I was interested in finance and offered me the opportunity to undertake work experience with the company.
I undertook my work experience during the school holidays. I still remember the client files that I worked on. The going rate for work experience then was $5 per day. Tony Gilham, the firm’s founder, was generous enough to quadruple the rate and paid me $100 for the five days at the end of the week. I was glad to have received the bonus, but I was more appreciative of undertaking the work experience.
Tony and Paul then invited me back to work over the school holidays, of course, at a higher rate than the $5 per day. I finished my VCE in 2001, and I was fortunate to obtain a score that gave me the opportunity for tertiary study at the University of Melbourne. I had always intended to study Commerce and Information Systems (it was the early 2000’s, so Information Technology was popular). However, my TER allowed me to change my preferences to undertake Commerce and Law, which was probably considered the most prestigious combination with Commerce. I stuck to what I had committed to, and thankfully so. The law subjects I had to undertake as part of my Commerce degree were my worst subjects at University. Goodness knows how I would’ve managed with three years of law subjects.
After undertaking one Information Systems subject, I also decided that wasn’t for me either. I was keen to spend the five years at University, so I decided to stick to a straight Commerce degree and undertake a Masters of Applied Finance at Melbourne once I had finished, which I did.
While at University, Tony and Paul allowed me to work part-time at the firm. Commerce was a huge course at Melbourne (1,600 students). The course size gave me the flexibility to cram my subjects into a full day and a couple of afternoons so that I could work. Some lecturers still used overhead projectors; my year was the first time you enrolled in tutorials online! It is hard to believe today, but one lecturer had to run the same session four times a day, twice a week.
Paul and Tony gave me an amazing degree of flexibility with leave for study and exams, which I still appreciate very much today.
In 2003, I flipped things around, working full-time and studying part-time. While I enjoyed studying, I was enjoying work more. I started what is known as our paraplanning department, which began with a single employee, me. The department is responsible for the preparation of Statements of Advice for clients. As the team grew with the firm, I was also responsible for managing workflow and the ongoing training and development of the team.
I was very fortunate to spend a lot of time one-on-one with Tony in these years. Tony could see that I was keen to learn, and he was just as eager to teach me.
In 2012, Paul and Tony offered me the opportunity to become a shareholder and partner of the firm. This is by far my most satisfying professional achievement. This was before I had committed to becoming a financial planner, so the leap of faith on their part was significant.
In late 2012, Paul coerced me into starting my journey as a financial planner. I was not convinced, but he probably saw something in me that I did not see in myself then. I always imagined my role in the business as being behind the scenes. I am eternally grateful that Paul pushed (shoved?) me along that path, as there has not been one day since I have regretted that decision.
A lot has happened in my personal life in my time at GFM. My wife, Liesl, has been with me for most of that time. She has been an incredible support for me. Full-time work and part-time study were a big commitment, ultimately at the compromise of our relationship. However, she always supported me in full along the journey. I have completed several additional courses besides my studies at the University of Melbourne. She thinks I’m insane and a bit weird, given my desire to continue studying.
Over my time at GFM, Liesl and I have purchased our first home together, got engaged and married, travelled through Europe four times (her favourite country is France, mine is Spain), started a family, sold our first home to buy a family home and completed a renovation together.
She is an incredible wife and amazing mother to our two children, no more so than during the tricky COVID environment in 2020 and 2021.
Jakob was born in 2014, and Zoe in 2016. There is nothing I enjoy more than spending time together as a family. We spend our time going to the footy (Jakob, Zoe and I are longsuffering Carlton fans), soccer, basketball and cricket. I look forward to our European family holiday in April this year.
Away from family time, I am most passionate about the game of golf. I’m a member of the Peninsula Kingswood Country Golf Club. There, I have been on the Board for seven years. I had a three-year stint as the Treasurer and have been Vice President for around 18 months.
I love the industry and my job, but most of all, I love the firm. I hope my enthusiasm comes through in my dealings with my clients, as there is nothing else I would rather do daily. I am passionate about quality financial planning advice. I am pleased with the significant raising of the bar concerning educational and professional standards of the industry, as it had been set way too low for too long.
I am very proud of our firm and that we can freely act in the best interests of our clients, conducting these relationships without being told what to do by another institution. Our clients know we are not tied to influences, products, or third parties. We can build the advice and strategies that are right for our clients in a practical, timely, personal, and proactive manner.
It goes without saying that I also feel incredibly fortunate to work with such wonderful people at GFM. We have a loyal, hard-working, knowledgeable and caring team that I am honoured to work with daily.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all my time with the firm and look forward to many more years ahead!
Help your loved ones prepare for the unexpected
By Witi Suma
Accidents, illnesses and death are, unfortunately, a part of life. Yet, many of us find it difficult to discuss or plan for them. As a result, when something does happen, we are often unprepared. During the holidays, my partner experienced a life-threatening medical emergency which left him temporarily incapacitated. Suddenly, I was forced to not only deal with a serious medical crisis but also to continue running a household and attending to various matters, some of which only my partner normally handled. It was an extremely stressful and difficult time. Thankfully, he is recovering, but the experience made me realise how important it is to be financially prepared for unexpected life events.
In this article, we look at practical steps to help you ensure that your personal and financial affairs are well organised so that those in your life whom you trust can step in and assist where needed.
Firstly, determine who can help manage your personal and financial affairs:
Trusted family members and friends can help in various ways during times of need. However, you should consider granting an Enduring Power of Attorney (“EPOA”) to a trusted person to manage your finances if you cannot manage your affairs. When choosing this individual, be sure they are trustworthy, have high ethical standards, are financially capable, and can be counted on to act according to your wishes. If you don’t already have an EPOA, consider appointing one sooner rather than later, as it is too late to do so once you have lost capacity.
Introduce your EPOA to your professional advisers (e.g. financial adviser, accountant, estate planning lawyer) to ensure that they are all on the same page should the time come when you become incapable of making your own decisions.
Secondly, create a file of important information that can be easily accessed:
The best way to prepare for unexpected incapacity is to organise your legal and financial documents and keep them in one place. Here are examples of documents and information that should be recorded and kept within this file:
Your personal information:
- Insurance policies
- Marriage certificate; birth certificate
- Copies of your identification documents, e.g. driver’s licence, passport
- Organ donor information
List of important contacts:
- Set up your emergency contacts on your mobile phone – first responders or hospital staff often check the mobile phone for emergency contacts to notify loved ones
- Be sure to include your friends, family, employer, and professional advisers, such as your lawyer, financial planner and accountant
Financial assets:
- List the account numbers and contact information for all of your bank accounts, credit cards and investment accounts (e.g. shares, managed funds)
- Property–related documents such as titles and leases
- Vehicle titles and other related documents
Estate documents:
- Will
- EPOA
- Living Will (Advanced Care Directive) – this is a legally binding document that details your health care wishes if you are no longer able to make medical decisions
- The original of your Will should be given to your Executor, and a copy should also be given to your spouse or other main beneficiary; copies of your EPOA document should be given to your appointed attorney, your spouse or other close family member, and a copy retained in your file
Medical information – the details of your:
- Doctor
- Dentist
- Medical conditions and allergies
- Your current medications
Regular payments to service providers:
- Utility providers (electricity, gas, water)
- Internet provider
- Mobile phone carrier
- Insurance premiums – health, car, home, life, etc.
- Subscription services and memberships
Debts:
- Credit cards, car loans, mortgages, lines of credit, and any other debts
- Record the account numbers, the location of signed agreements, and the contact information of the companies holding the debt
Sources of income:
- Employment
- Social Security
- Benefits your family may be entitled to (life insurance, pensions)
Digital assets:
Keep the documents in a secure place:
It’s important that you inform someone you trust implicitly, such as your spouse or EPOA, where these documents are kept and how they can be accessed. Store them in either an external drive or “in the cloud” to make them easy to access during a crisis. Keeping the documents in the cloud allows you to access documents from anywhere with an internet connection; it is especially helpful during an emergency such as a natural disaster if you need to leave quickly.
If you don’t have an internet connection, consider keeping copies of your important documents in a safe deposit box or a waterproof “to–go” kit that you can take with you at short notice.
Before travelling, ensure you share your itinerary with family and your EPOA, in case anything unexpected happens when you’re away.
Set up an emergency fund:
If you don’t already have one, set up an emergency fund to prepare you for any unexpected expenses. Keep three months’ worth of expenses in this fund as a bare minimum – start by putting aside some of your income regularly, even if it’s a small amount. Also, remember to keep a small amount of cash at home in a safe place to pay for medical supplies, food and petrol if ATMs and cash registers are not operational (due to power outages, for example).Conclusion:
While we all wish for a long and healthy life, ensuring that your loved ones are prepared to manage your affairs if something happens to you is essential. Accidents, illness and death can occur at any time, so it’s important to get your affairs in order by storing your important documents and information and keeping them in a place that can be easily accessed by those you trust. A little forethought now will save your loved ones unnecessary stress, money and heartache during an already difficult and emotional time.Upcoming Seminar: Estate Planning – Creating Certainty:
Tuesday 21 May 2024 – Save The Date
By Mai Davies
We will host our next Estate Planning Seminar on Tuesday, 21 May 2024, at 12 pm at Leonda by the Yarra.
Our special guest presenter is Jennifer Dixon, Practice Leader at Moores Legal, who will give a general overview of Estate Planning and work through a couple of practical case studies that will be extremely relevant to our clients.
This will be a very detailed presentation with Jennifer discussing the following:
- Benefits of a good estate plan
- Preparing a Will
- Common mistakes with Wills and estate planning
- Estate Challenges
- Powers of Attorney
- Testamentary Trusts
- Role & Responsibilities of Executor
- SMSF Estate Planning
- The best superannuation/SMSF beneficiary options
- Elder abuse rules
Please save the date if you would like to attend. Invitations will be emailed to clients in April.
Stage Three Tax Cuts Changes
By Amelia Paullo
Stage 3 tax cuts have been a hot topic of discussion since they were announced in the 2018–19 Federal Budget. The personal income tax plan was designed to simplify our tax system and address the issue of ‘bracket creep’ – tax rates not keeping pace with wage growth and increasing the tax paid by individuals over time.
After much speculation, the Government has announced that they intend to amend the legislated Stage 3 tax cuts scheduled to commence on 1 July 2024. This means more Australian taxpayers will receive a personal income tax cut and take home more in their pay packet from 1 July. However, for some on higher incomes, the impact will be less favourable than it would have been before the proposed amendments.
The revised tax cuts aim to benefit lower-income households disproportionately impacted by the cost–of–living pressures.
From 1 July 2024, the proposed tax cuts will:
- reduce the 19 per cent tax rate to 16 per cent
- reduce the 32.5 per cent tax rate to 30 per cent
- increase the threshold above which the 37 per cent tax rate applies from $120,000 to $135,000
- increase the threshold above which the 45 per cent tax rate applies from $180,000 to $190,000
The current, legislated, and amended Stage 3 tax rates for Australian resident taxpayers are:
Tax Rate | 2023/2024 | 2024/25 Legislated | 2024/25 Proposed |
0% | $0–$18,200 | $0–$18,200 | $0–$18,200 |
16% | $18,201–$45,000 | ||
19% | $18,201–$45,000 | $18,201–$45,000 | |
30% | $45,001–$200,000 | $45,001–$135,000 | |
32.5% | $45,001–$120,000 | ||
37% | $120,001–$180,000 | $135,001–$190,000 | |
45% | >$180,000 | >$200,000 | >$190,000 |
Under the proposed tax cuts, all resident taxpayers with taxable income under $146,486 will receive a larger tax cut compared with the existing legislated Stage 3 plan.
For example, an individual with a taxable income of $40,000 will receive a tax cut of $654, in contrast to receiving no tax cut under the current Stage 3 plan (but they are likely to have benefited from the tax cuts at Stage 1 and Stage 2). Individuals with a taxable income of $100,000 would receive a tax cut of $2,179, $804 more than under the current Stage 3 plan.
An individual earning $200,000 will still benefit from the Stage 3 plan. However, it will be reduced to around half of what was expected, from $9,075 to $4,529. There is still a benefit compared with the current tax rates, just not as much as was initially legislated.
There is additional relief for low–income earners with the Medicare Levy low–income thresholds expected to increase by 7.1% in line with inflation. It is expected that an individual will not start paying the 2% Medicare Levy until their income reaches $32,500 (up from $26,000).
While the proposed redesign is intended to be broadly revenue-neutral compared with the existing budgeted Stage 3 plan, it is expected to cost around $1 billion more over the next four years before bracket creep starts to diminish the gains.
The Government will need to quickly enact amending legislation to make the redesigned Stage 3 tax cuts a reality by 1 July 2024. So far, the Opposition has said they will agree with the redesigned amendments but expect income tax amendments to continue to be a hot topic leading into the next Federal Election.
Adviser Predictions for 2024
By Paul Nicol
James
Financial:
A recession in Australia will be avoided thanks to the ongoing resilience of the local economy.
Non–Financial:
Reading the political tea leaves, I think Australia will go early and have an election in 2024.
Paul
Financial:
That A–REITs are the best–performed sector of the Australian Share Market in 2024.
Non–Financial:
That the mighty Swans will win the 2024 AFL Flag while Carlton misses the 8.
Amelia
Financial:
The ASX200 will reach 8000 points in the next 12 months.
Non–Financial:
Donald Trump will win the US election.
Sam
Financial:
Ramsay Healthcare receives a successful takeover bid.
Non–Financial:
The New York Knicks win the NBA Championship.
Patrick
Financial:
The RBA Cash Rate is 3.60% or less by the end of 2024.
Non–Financial:
Joe Biden is replaced as the Democratic nominee for the 2024 US Elections.
Introducing:
Ethan Hardeman
By Rebecca Dhillon
Ethan joined GFM Wealth in June 2023 after completing his Year 12 studies at Haileybury, where he had attended since ELC. After discovering a passion for the finance industry during his VCE studies, Ethan is excited to begin his career in financial planning. He has ambitions of becoming a qualified financial planner. Ethan is studying at Monash University. He has made a very big impression in his short time at GFM and we hope he has a long and successful career with us, like many who have started at a young age, such as Paul, Patrick, Jacqui, Witi and Mai.
Here’s a quick Q and A with Ethan:
Q. Your family?
My family consists of my parents, Nicola and Luke, and my younger brothers, Ben and Josh. We also have an Australian Cobberdog named Jett.
Q. Favourite holiday destination?
Our family has only ever been to Thailand since I was young, but we look forward to going to Bali at the end of this year. I always enjoy trips to Lorne and Yarrawonga with family and friends. I’m also aiming to travel to America once I turn 21.
Q. Hobbies?
I play cricket during the summer and Australian Rules during the winter and get out for a round of golf or a game of pick–up basketball whenever I can. My favourite movies include Get Out and Step Brothers, and I enjoy watching various TV shows such as The Office (US) and Suits.
Q. What is your favourite food/drink?
Despite enjoying many foods, I can’t pass a Chicken Parma. My favourite dessert would have to be sticky date pudding, and my coffee order is a plain latte. Contrary to my part Sri Lankan heritage, I don’t handle spicy foods very well.
Q. Your proudest moment?
My proudest moment to date is graduating from Haileybury College as a student who attended all the way from ELC. I was also fortunate enough to be a part of the undefeated APS premiership cricket team for Haileybury in 2021/22.
Q. What sports do you follow?
I follow almost every sport except Soccer (sorry, James). I am a passionate supporter and critic of the Carlton Blues in the AFL, the Melbourne Storm in the NRL, the Boston Celtics in the NBA and the Australian Cricket team.
Q. The best part of working at GFM?
Everyone has welcomed me since my first day at GFM. Working in an environment surrounded by professionals with years and years of expertise is not something many people my age get to say. I am extremely privileged.
CHRISTMAS CARDS AND CHARITABLE DONATIONS
By Mai Davies
For 25 years, we have donated a comparable amount to charities instead of sending Christmas cards.
This year, we had three nominated charities and donated to each.
The 2023 money has been donated to the following charities as nominated by our clients:
- Lions Rheumatism and Arthritis Medical Research Foundation Australia
- Murdoch Children’s Research Institute
- Wheelchairs For Kids
Disclaimer: This document is not an offer or invitation to any person to buy or sell any interest in or deposit funds with any institution. The information here is of a generic nature, and does not take into account your investment objectives or financial needs. No person should act upon this information without firstly seeking competent professional advice specifically relating to their own particular situations.
Copyright: © This publication is copyright. Subject to the conditions prescribed under the Copyright Act, no part of it may, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, microcopying, photocopying, recording or otherwise) be reproduced or transmitted without permission. Enquiries should be addressed to GFM Wealth Advisory.