When financial planners are asked at parties what they do for a living, many hesitate to be specific. Why? Because the inevitable follow-up questions relate to where they think the stock market, the dollar, interest rates or the economy are headed.

It’s a myth that dies hard—the idea that a financial planner is a market prophet with special powers for foreseeing the future. To be sure, some advisors position themselves as smart forecasters or market timers.

The best planners, however, will tell you that no one can predict the future. 

We believe that a financial plan should not be shaped by market forecasts. Rather, it should be shaped according to the needs, goals, risk appetites and life circumstances of each individual client. In this sense, good financial planners are not experts in prophecy but in possibility.

We spend time with our clients to learn about them. We need to know not only about their assets, liabilities, income and living costs, but also about their aspirations and expectations. From there, goals are set for the short, medium and long term. We then connect those goals to a portfolio strategy that gives clients the best chance of both achieving their goals. A short-term market forecast isn’t required.

The key to earning that return is not market timing or stock selection, but diversification and discipline. The stock market will have more good years than bad, we know that. But there will be bad years, so a plan needs to accommodate those by including bonds and other defensive assets.

Finally, none of our plans are ever set in concrete and forgotten about. There are two reasons. First, markets are always changing. This can move clients’ portfolios beyond the bounds of their risk appetites. Second, our clients are always changing. They change careers, relationships, build families, move house, and face periodic challenges with their health and external circumstances. Plans need to be reassessed, portfolios rebalanced and goals reset, if necessary, to accommodate all of that.
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The controllable stuff may not be as interesting as the big political or market story of the day. But it’s here where we, your planner, makes the real difference.

Get in touch with one of our Financial Advisers. 

You may be using an old desktop accounting solution and want to know what the benefits of Cloud Accounting are. Alternatively you may already be using a Cloud Accounting solution like Xero but feel you need some assistance on simplifying and streamlining the accounting process. 
 
We can assist you with providing a cloud accounting solution that you can access from any location and any device, the only prerequisite being a good internet connection.
 
Given the increasing amount of disruptions, it is more important now than ever to consider switching to a cloud based solution.  A cloud solution not only gives you peace of mind in these situations but also the ability to continue with your accounting function regardless of the location. You no longer need to be tied to a specific computer in a specific location to do your accounting.
 
There are many benefits to converting to a cloud accounting solution, one of them being the storage of documents such as bills and receipts.  We all know the pain of filing documents for 7 years, filing them in a folder, bottom draw or shoebox and then having the physical space to store them.  Then there’s those pesky thermal receipts that fade quickly!  The next issue is having to find one of your documents that has been “filed”.
 
Most cloud accounting solutions including Xero and MYOB Essentials have a solution for the document storage problem.
 
Xero has purchased a software solution called Hubdoc which automates the processing of bills and receipts in Xero and is a document storage solution in it’s own right.  That’s right, you no longer need to keep paper versions of documents they can be stored in Hubdoc and Xero electronically.  Hubdoc has a mobile phone app which enables you to take photos of those receipts and upload them into Xero, meaning once the photo is taken the receipt can be thrown away.  Finding documents is also much easier from within either Xero or Hubdoc.  Another great feature is that documents are stored in two places, Xero and Hubdoc and there is also the ability for a third storage option as Hubdoc can upload documents to storage solutions like dropbox.
 
If you already have a cloud accounting solution but you would like advice on how to simplify and streamline the accounting process giving you more time to focus on doing what you love please give Lena Ripley a call and she will provide you with training and possible software solutions (like Hubdoc) to make your life easier.
 
At Oldershaw we believe in providing solutions that are tailored to our clients needs as there is no “one size fits all” when it comes to accounting software.

While the first quarter of 2020 will long be remembered for the global emergence of Covid-19 and an unprecedented market downturn, the second quarter may well be remembered for the extraordinary resilience of investment markets. 

We are all experiencing unprecedented and uncertain times given the COVID-19 outbreak.

We wish to assure you that Oldershaw has a business continuity plan in place and will be able to continue to provide our services to you if the situation worsens.

There is a lot of information circulating in regards to this outbreak.

We have prepared a table (attached) for you based on the Governments Economic Response Package in relation to businesses.

We hope this information will provide you with some clarity and help you navigate the options available for your business.

The best we can do in these times is plan for the worst and hope for the best. 

We cannot stress enough how important it is to have a plan and be prepared as much as you can.

In following the health guidelines, please do not come to our offices if you are unwell. 

There are plenty of other communication options we can use such as, skype/zoom meetings, telephone and email, so contact our Napier accounting team today.

​Over the next few months we plan to run some helpful sessions for clients on various topics. These sessions will be free of charge and held at our office.  Keep an eye out in your inbox for more information about these. 

​Today we welcome Kate Ching to our team.  Kate has joined our team to assist with Administration, Information Technology and various projects we have.  Welcome to our team Kate!
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Over the weekend Jarrod MacDonald completed the completed the Half Marathon as part of the Air New Zealand Hawkes Bay Marathon – congratulations Jarrod.

​​At Oldershaw and Co we take great pride in growing and developing our staff.  Currently we have three staff members studying to become a Financial Adviser, plus two staff members completing their CA (or CA equivalent) studies.  Studying on top of full time work (and everything else) takes a lot of dedication so we are very proud of their efforts and wish them the best for the year ahead.

Recently our Principals enjoyed a day blending the wine our firm won as part of a consortium at the 2018 Hawkes Bay Wine Auction where the proceeds of the auction go to Cranford Hospice.  A big thanks to Chris Scott and Church Road Winery for the great day that was had by all.

​Are you concerned about where your hard earned dollars are being invested?  Many investors are now beginning to be more concerned about where their funds are being invested.  From emissions variables such as greenhouse gas emissions intensity and potential emissions from fossil fuel reserves to other environmental and social sustainability variables such as land use and biodiversity, toxic spills and releases, operational waste, water management, factory farming, child labour, cluster munitions and landmines, nuclear weapons systems, tobacco, alcohol, gambling and adult entertainment.  With socially responsible investing (SRI), investments in companies are emphasised, reduced or excluded based on environmental and sustainability impact, as well as social considerations.
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OCW have SRI portfolios available as an option for investors with the historical returns of these portfolio being commensurate to standard portfolios and are still well diversified.  If you would like to know more about SRI options for your investments contact one of our Financial Advisers today.

Recently IRD has updated their website and systems which has led to some confusion and things to be careful of.

Auto-Assessments
IRD is currently doing a lot of advertising about their auto assessments that will occur from 20th May 2019 onwards and how it ‘makes tax easier’. 
We are asking that you be wary of any assessments or refunds you receive directly from IRD and speak with us if you get any. There can be errors in the IRD system and unknown information, so please get in touch and we can help ensure your taxes are correct.


Refunds
IRD’s new system will refund any credit balance within 24 hours of it being paid now – so if you make a payment to IRD and accidently pay to the wrong tax type or the wrong tax period, it is highly likely they will refund that money directly to you and you then have 30 days to get it back to them without penalty. 
Refunds can be missed when they are direct credited back into your bank account, so please be vigilant about details of online payments to IRD and call us if you need any assistance.