The Budget

Whatever your political leaning, this minority government was in a bind with this budget whatever way you cut it. They had to make inroads on the deficit and they did but there is little doubt they couldn't go much further. Political pragmatism and visionary action are uneasy bedfellows.

There was a positive emphasis on infrastructure development, back to work initiatives, skilling our workforce and being more creative in the disability sector. However, some big challenges remain such as the level of spending on social welfare, government services and defence. In addition, the rates of personal income tax remain very high and a lack of clarity around superannuation continues.

When you stand back from it all, the underlying fundamentals are still strong. It is healthy to be critical of government and opposition in almost equal measure but we are looking at 4% growth (real GDP) next year and an unemployment rate of 4.75%. That's not a bad situation when you consider the recency of the global financial crisis and our various natural disasters.

The Future of Financial Advice (FOFA)

The recently announced industry reforms under the heading FOFA are aimed at addressing the shortcomings of the industry and protecting clients. The emphasis on a "fee for advice" model is a welcome one. It will adversely impact a significant number of advisers who have historically relied on commission income. It will also cause clients to question those advisers who take a transactional rather than relationship approach to clients. Ultimately, FOFA will result in a higher standard across advisers in the long term.

At WHK Melbourne, we are very proud of our Wealth Management team. They are professional, qualified, experienced, relationship focussed. Importantly they behave and advise freely of any product provider and they all follow a consistent philosophy. They have been through the good times and the bad times with our private clients. The last 2 years have been particularly testing as global markets tumbled, then recovered, then fell back a little again.

We are currently investing heavily in our Wealth Management team in terms of facilities, systems, processes, compliance and talent. I believe this will further improve our relationship with and service offering to our existing and future private clients. We are genuinely excited about raising the bar in Wealth Management at WHK. Our private clients will be the best judge of that, for sure.

Carl Walsh
Chief Executive