Keep up-to-date with the financial news that impacts you with articles from the team. We use the questions you ask us the most to come up with inspiration for our articles, along with just providing you with updates on the latest important financial happenings.
It’s easy to lose track of time and put off retirement planning— but the consequences aren’t worth it, especially if you outlive your retirement savings, as about 51% of retired Australians expect to do. IQ Capital Group’s Senior Financial Planner Susan Howard explains what you should do now to make the most of your golden years.
Read MoreThe Reserve Bank of Australia, the RBA, is the central bank of Australia. It has the responsibility of managing the Australian economy and aims to positively contribute to the economic prosperity and wealth of Australia and its residents. Within this role it issues Australian currency, maintains stability of the financial system as a whole and sets the official interest rates between banks, greatly influencing residential mortgage rates available to you.
Read MoreThere is rarely a perfect time to buy your first home. It often comes with an apprehensive level of commitment and trepidation following a period of sacrifice and austerity. Despite this however the feelings of excitement, growth and achievement immediately eradicate the memory of a night out that changed to a night in, the dinner out you passed on to cook at home, and all the other little decisions along the way to save some money here and there that led to a big decision to go ahead and commit to the purchase of your first home.
Read MoreDepending on where you live in the country, Covid-19, a universal phrase already in its short existence, may appear a living nightmare or a distraction on the news completely removed from your reality. The fact is however, whether you are currently locked down only able to leave your home to gather essentials or just returning home after a normal day in regional Australia, Covid-19 will have consequences for most of us or influence the way we live on the other side.
Read MoreWe have heard the term ‘we are all in this together’ a million times as of late, but here at IQ Capital, we are creating a new type of together. Our goal has also been to take our clients on a journey to a better future, so it only makes sense that the I represents our four pillars: education, guidance, our people and our philosophy.
Read MoreOur thoughts: An interesting article by well-respected author, observer and special adviser Bernard Salt. Reflecting on the current “baby boom” and its correlation with town planning requirements and property demand. Starting or growing your family is, unsurprisingly, a very emotive driver of where and how people want to live and, consequently, those experiencing this aspire to do so whilst living in a particular suburb or type of home.
Read MoreRegardless of your political persuasion, the election result has demonstrated Australians want stability and certainty – as the majority voted to maintain established economic and tax policies. Evidently, the thought of radical changes to the rules was not desirable for those wanting to invest in their own future wellbeing, or those that have spent the last decades planning for their retirements.
Read MoreThe headline: Federal Budget 2019, Queensland reaps infrastructure boom. Our thoughts: A summary from the Courier Mail on where and what the Budget means for the “sunshine state”, which suggests some $4 billion will be spent on new and improved infrastructure. This includes a $378.8 million commitment to bust urban congestion through various key arterial ro
Read MoreHow long have you been in Finance? I have been in finance for over 20 years (showing my age 😐) How have you seen Finance change in that time? The changes have been significant. When I first started we did hand written applications that we would hand deliver to a bank whereas now we use sophisticated aggregation platforms that link directly to the banks software. So technology has certainly changed things a lot however, the biggest evolution has come with major banking reform and a strong focus on compliance. The banking environment has become more stringent in many ways with banking policy shifting continually requiring a sharp eye, in depth technical knowledge and the need for a higher level of professionalism than ever before
Read MoreRBA holds interest rate steady for record 30th month. Our thoughts: The official interest rate remains at a record low of 1.5%, where it has been since August 2016. The general consensus for the March decision seems to be; that whilst the economy is generally moving in the right direction, it is moving at a subdued pace – soft property markets, (primarily in Sydney and
Read MoreAs we near a decade on from the emergence, evolution and consequent fallout that is known as the Global Financial Crisis we have seen a paradigm shift across the entire sector of “financial services”. In almost every aspect, from conduct and service through to professionalism and transparency, significant reform has occurred. So we ask ourselves what is financial planning in this post GFC world and is it different today..?
Read MoreConsidering its seems impossible to turn on the news, pick up a newspaper or even have a coffee without the cryptocurrency topic being the all-encompassing focus of debate, little is either actually known about this asset class or as polarising as its validity… The fact is it is complex, unregulated and evolving, and the term “currency” possibly misleading.
Read MoreMost of us have left summer holidays behind and returned to work, school has started, businesses are up and running, and 2018 is well underway. So, what do we have to look forward to in 2018? With regard to the Australia economy, 2018 is looking promising. The Reserve Bank has forecast our GDP growth to exceed 3 per cent over the next couple of years and recently stated, ‘Business conditions are positive and the outlook for non-mining business investment has improved.’
Read MoreA budget is far too often misunderstood, a forced savings plan seen as restrictive and punitive in nature as opposed to a fundamental tool that can actually reap benefits and be a source of valuable dividends, both in lifestyle and literally in money.
Read MoreBeing an award winning financial services business requires a lot of dedication, knowledge and level of service beyond expectation. At IQ Capital Group we understand this because we are a multi award winning organisation, and we apply these values across our various departments, especially IQ Finance.
Read MoreToday IQ Capital is an award winning financial services firm that’s been operating for 14 years. What was your vision when you first set out? I was a department manager at a successful mortgage business in Brisbane. We had a very strong customer service ethos and I built strong relationships with my clients. As a result I had many clients seeking advice from me in other areas of their financial welfare and quickly realised that the financial services sector was very compartmentalise
Read MoreAs we move into the final quarter of the calendar year, and begin preparing for the “silly season” (which in the finance world is managing client files and settlement dates around busy periods for the banks, as well as hectic holiday schedules so that all of our clients meet their contractual obligations or have their refinances settled in time for Christmas) a lucky few of the team at IQ Capital Group were however able to let their hair down at a gala event held this year in tropical north Queensland last week.
Read MoreMany people say they would like more wealth but never seem to achieve that desire. What is stopping so many people from building personal wealth?
Read MoreDespite indications of improvement in the domestic economy, it was no surprise to many in the financial sector that the Reserve Bank announced this week that they would keep the cash rate at 1.50 per cent, a rate that has been unchanged in over a year.
Read MoreWe were very excited to hear that IQ Capital Group are finalists in the 2017 eChoice Brokers Awards. In fact, we are eagerly awaiting the results of four different award categories in which we are finalists
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