FROM THE EDITOR
Feedback
I
t’s a humbling moment for me to write this
note, my first as the new editor-in-chief of
this publication. The Money team, superbly led
by Pam Walkley as editor, Effie Zahos as her
deputy and the iconic Paul Clitheroe as chief
commentator, did something extraordinary
when they started in 1999. They delivered the
first practical and easy-to-understand maga-
zine about money to everyday households.
Money, in its 20th year, is moving to its new
home with the Rainmaker Group, a financial
services information company. While Rain-
maker is little known outside the financial ser-
vices industry, it has covered money-related
issues for more than 28 years. It publishes
Financial Standard, an industry newspaper
where I cut my teeth as a finance journalist,covering superannuation, financial advice and
wealth management.
While Money is changing address, it is not
changing its mission. It will stay close to its
roots and strive to continue doing what it does
best. Rainmaker has been a regular contributor
to, and supporter of, Money over the years.
Paul believes that consumer advocacy is
first and foremost to Money’s mission, and we
agree. He isn’t going anywhere; his columns
and Q&A series will continue.
In the great symmetry of life, I celebrate my
20 years in finance media this year. As I reflect
on this, I look back to my first job at the national
business magazine BRW. At the time, as lead
researcher on the Rich 200 issue, the maga-
zine’s list of the 200 wealthiest individuals andOur mission remains the same
Thank you for producing such a high-qual-
ity magazine on the important issue of
money. I only wish I had been introduced
to it when I was 18. I’m sure I would be
much wealthier now if I had the benefit of
the articles and advice that Money pro-
vides each month.
I would like to comment on the article
“Give chores the finger” (March 2019).
As someone who is self-employed, I bene-
fit by outsourcing the mowing of my lawn.
Over the years my wife and I have paid for
the cleaning of our house and for ironing
from time to time.
If you are a professional you can gain a
financial benefit by putting that time into
your business and paying someone to
keep the household running smoothly.
I am concerned, though, about the
advice that “paying in cash can sometimes
lower the costs too”. In my practice I much
prefer to be paid electronically. It saves me
the time of going to the bank to deposit
the funds and, secondly, the payment
shows up in my bank statement with the
name of the client who paid, making my
tax reconciliation much easier.
PeterOutsourcing household
jobs is the way to goLetter of the month
Contact us
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no personal replies arepossible.219 S
OPS0
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PROPERTY STRESSFUL BECOMES
Funds are balanced
in name only
Thank you so much for the excellent
and timely article about super funds,
“Read the label first” (April 2019).
Indeed, the various forms of the “bal-
anced” option across the industry can
often skew the results in your very own
Best of the Best edition, with last year’s
winner’s impressive one-year return
heavily exposed to Australian and
international shares, and notionally
“balanced” in name only.
The issue is never more acute, though,
than when evaluating ethical investment
options. Almost all Australian super funds
branded as ethical, or those funds that
offer a sustainable or ethical option within
their fund, invest in the big four banks.
It describes a sector of the finance
industry that is hopelessly naive in
its understanding of the concept of
environmental, social and governance
investing, to say the least.
Patrick
Good advice for a stress-
free retirement
A money-making tip: pay your health
insurance premium annually and in
advance. There are funds that will give you
a discount of up to 4% for paying annually.
PS: In the March edition of Money maga-
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