Wealth
Insights on wealth management, investments, and personal finance.
In addition to being Australian’s single biggest asset, the family home - the cornerstone to establishing financial independence – also offers retirees equity they can potentially tap into without having to sell. But with the interest rates now getting close to double, reverse mortgages facilities – which lets homeowners borrow against the equity in their house – have largely fallen out of favour. However, the Federal Government’s often overlooked Home Equity Access Scheme (HEAS) currently presents some mouthwatering opportunities for retirees and prominent West Australian financial adviser Wayne Leggett, principal of Paramount Financial Solutions explained to Azzet what they are. Asset: How can Australians quality for the Home Equity Access Scheme? Wayne Leggett (WL): To quality, you must be of age pension age and hold equity in Australian equity in your own name. Importantly, you don’t need to be an age pension recipient, don’t need to own a property outright and can even use property that is not your primary place of residence. Azzet: How are applications made and what sort of payments does the scheme offer? WL: Applications are made via Services Australia and are calculated on the equity offered as security,
Investment firm CC Capital Partners LLC has thrown down the gauntlet to its larger rival bidder Bain Capital by raising its takeover offer for Insignia Financial. Insignia said it had received a revised non-binding and indicative offer from CC Capital of A$4.60 cash per share, which values the company at $3.1 billion, up from the $4.30 cash per share offered by both bidders previously. The company said in an ASX announcement the offer was subject to the same terms and conditions as the initial proposal, advising shareholders to take no action as the Board and its advisers decided whether to engage with CC Capital. The company repeated its previous statement that there was no certainty the proposal would result in a binding offer or a transaction. In the space of about one month, the 178-year-old financial services group has received two non-binding and conditional bids each from Bain and CC Capital amid speculation that asset management giant Brookfield might enter the fray as a third bidder. Bain included in its proposal the potential for shareholders who accepted the offer to receive shares in the ultimate holding company if the buyout proceeds. The top seven shareholders owned more than 58% of the target in Au
More than 25% of Australia’s small business owners dipped into their savings or did not pay themselves a salary as they faced cash flow problems in the last year, according to a survey commissioned by Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA). CBA said almost 80% of Australian small to medium businesses (SMBs) experienced impact to their cash flow in the last 12 months because of falling revenue (35%), low cash reserves (30%) and seasonal fluctuations (27%). About 85% of surveyed businesses used cash flow management strategies such as reviewing or decreasing expenses (34%), maintaining a cash reserve (27%), finding new revenue streams (26%) and increasing sales and/or pricing (25%). “However, more than a quarter of Aussie small businesses (27%) dipped into personal savings or didn’t pay themselves a salary, or both, in the last year,” the bank said in a media release. CBA Executive General Manager Small Business Banking Rebecca Warren said it was important for crucial business owners to have the knowledge to apply the strategies that were important for long-term business success. “It’s not surprising that the economic challenges of the past year have resulted in cash-flow impacts for many Australian SMBs,” Warren sai
JPMorgan Chase has announced that its second most senior executive will end a career of more than 40 years at the banking giant by retiring at the end of 2026. JPMorgan Chase said Daniel Pinto would relinquish his responsibilities as President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) on 30 June 2025, to allow him to effectively transition them in the coming months. It said Co-Chief Executive Officer of the Commercial & Investment Bank (CIB) Jennifer Piepszak had been named COO effective immediately, working closely with Pinto over the next few months. Piepszak would manage and coordinate technology, operations, chief administrative office, data and analytics, corporate strategy and diversity, equity and inclusion and oversee global corporate centres in India and the Philippines, which employ more than 80,000 people. Co-head of Global Banking Doug Petno would succeed Piepszak as Co-Chief Executive Officer of the CIB, partnering with current CIB Co-CEO Troy Rohrbaugh to manage the business. Head of Commercial Banking John Simmon would succeed Petno and join Filippo Gori as the new Co-head of Global Banking, reporting to Petno and Rohrbaugh. President and Chief Operating Officer Jamie Dimon said Pinto had d
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has sued Capital One for allegedly cheating customers out of more than $2 billion in interest on their savings accounts. In the lawsuit, which is also levelled at the bank’s parent holding company, Capital One Financial Corp., CFPB alleges that consumers were promised one of the nation’s “best” and “highest” interest rates through its flagship “360 Savings” accounts. However, the bank reportedly froze the interest rate at a low level while rates rose nationwide, and, around the same time, Capital One created a near identical product, “360 Performance Savings” that paid out substantially more in interest. At one point, it was delivering 14 times more in interest than the original 360 savings accounts, and CFPB says that Capital One did not specifically notify 360 Savings accountholders about this new product. The Bureau alleges that by keeping customers in the dark on the new account type Capital One cost millions of consumers more than $2 billion in lost interest payments. “Banks should not be baiting people with promises they can’t live up to,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. "We are deeply disappointed to see the CFPB continue its recent pattern of filing 11th hour
