Friday, 1 December 2023

Net Worth - NOV 2023

Chart updated to end of November in sidebar.

Stocks/cash increased $10,971 (+5.05%) to $228,135. This was mostly due to markets performing well during the past month.

Retirement savings (SMSF etc) increased by $72,720 (4.84%) to $1,576,439 in line with the market trend and our asset allocation. Having reallocated some surplus cash in out SMSF into an Australian Shares Index Fund during the recent market dip seems to have been a good move.

Est. valuation of our home (my half) increased by $62,601 (5.98%) to $1,109,410. Realestate.com had their monthly 'suburb snapshot' information available again, so I reverted to my usual method of estimating our house price. The 'Other real estate' (my 'lake house' and the investment apartment) decreased considerably over the past month, down by -$89,628 (-4.15%) to $2,071,844 reversing the artificial spike caused last month by the change in data source used for the estimation. This month's estimated values are probably a more accurate estimate of the actual market values - or at least are comparable to my other monthly figures.

The outstanding balance of the investment property mortgage remains at $999,993 during the 'interest only' period of the mortgage. I have about $142K sitting in the loan offset account (which is included in the stocks/cash figure), which helps reduce the monthly interest charged.

Other assets (my online depository bullion account at  Perth Mint, and the bullion value of my gold and silver proof coin collection) decreased by -$443 (-1.16%) to $37,874. Having a small allocation to bullion continues to help reduce my overall  portfolio volatility without too much drag on the overall portfolio performance.

Overall, NW increased by $56,221 (1.41%) to $4,031,682 during November. Finally broke through the $4MM barrier.

New tenants moved into my rental apartment at the end of November. The agent was unable to quickly lease out the apartment for $890.week, so I agreed to maintain the rent at the previous $850/wk rate. The lease is for 12 months and they appear to have arranged to pay their rent monthly around the 15th of each month. They are another couple of Chinese students, again with a cute pet 'lap' dog. Must be the latest fashion for affluent Chinese students studying in Australia?

My AFSL has changed the way PI (professional indemnity) insurance premiums are split amongst their ARs (Authorised Representatives), so my monthly PI fee has leapt up from around $400/mo to $750/mo. Which seems absurd since I have no clients yet (so no possible liability). Overall my fixed cost of remaining a registered Financial Adviser is about $18,000 pa. Definitely time to get serious about prospecting for new (some) clients! I figure I will need to 'onboard' at least one client every month to get to 'break even' point by the end of next year. If I don't have many clients by then I think I'll give up my registration and switch to just being a 'wealth coach' for a small hourly rate. As long as I don't recommend specific financial 'products' I won't have to be registered as a financial advisor - so could eliminate the $18,000 AFSL fee, the $3,500 ASIC levy etc. Particularly when doing financial planning as a part-time 'side gig' it isn't worth the overhead costs to be a financial advisor in Australia. And the government wonders why there is a shortage of registered financial advisors, or why personal financial advice in Australia is "unaffordable".

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