Hi,

Have just retired early (56 years) of age after 34 years with Qld Police. I am currently living in central Qld and now need to determine how to deal with my Super. I am currently talking to a large firm of financial advisors but would like other opinions of the best way to make my money work for me. I am on a defined benefit scheme.

//but would like other opinions of the best way to make my money work for me//

Don't solicit financial advice from anonymous idiots on the internet. These are the sort of people who think the best way to make their money work for them is by investing in Nigerian royalty. Talk to a professional.

Certainly wasn't intending to solicit sound financial advice , as I am currently doing so through a large reputable firm, but just interested in other peoples experiences and ideas. It's a bit confusing this whole thing and some personal experiences might clear a few things up. Thanks for the reply , appreciated

Hello Jinxy

One size doesn't fit all. It really depends on knowledge and education and an interest in financial investing. Some people prefer to pay an expert for advice on everything and leave it all to them, but to get good advice costs money and even the experts get it wrong sometimes. You only have to look at some of the ET Funds to see that after you take off their management fee they sometimes don't even meet the index.
I did have a financial advisor for a time, but found that he was costing me an awful lot of money, so I decided to do it all myself through an SMSF. However I did learn a great deal from him and have an interest in learning and reading as much as I can to develop my knowledge. It's a constant learning curve as market conditions are changing and developing all the time and nothing is simple straight forward and easy. If you take this route my advice is not to be impatient and think you will always make money in the market. As someone said succinctly "it's not timing the market, it's time IN the market that usually creates the best results"
Like anything in life, it takes a certain amount of effort to achieve anything and financial independence is no different. Knowledge is required to monitor your investments and above all read all you can particularly advice from proven investors such as Warren Buffet, Peter Lynch, Robert Kiyosaki (Rich Dad Poor Dad) Benjamin Graham and Jim Rogers. Then pick out what makes sense to you and follow it.

Hi Jinxy, my advice is to talk to anyone but a "professional". My experience in watching what happened when my parents "talked to a professional" is that this is the quickest way of losing money you can find.

One professional, invested their money in two financial organisations, probably because they paid the highest commission, which resulted in the loss of about 20% of their nest egg.

The next advisor put a fair bit in an organisation which did not actually go broke, but got into trouble, & took 6 years to pay back all their investment, with no earning in this time.

I worked for the Telford property trusts resort operating division. Highly recommended by professional investment advisors, they cost thousands of oldies million of dollars. I was there when 4 of the directors of the financial arm went to prison for the way they were handling their investors money.

Learn a bit yourself, & be cautious, & you'll do OK. One word of advice however, be careful of toys. Although one of my classic cars has tripled in value, I am way behind over all with them. My 15 remote controlled aircraft have been a lot of fun & frustration, but a dead loss financially.

However my home on 20 acres some distance out of town, bought to run the kids horses 24 years ago, has increased by 500%, as the city has come out to join me. Wonderful, but only of any real advantage if I sell it.

Best advice, if you have something you always wanted to do, go & blow what ever it takes on doing it. That is what the kids will do, if it's still there when you kick the bucket, so beat them to it.

Get good quality proper advice, don't go to a bank (they will sell you what the bank recommends for them) A good financial planner is worth their weight in gold. Make sure they have at least a CFP qualification or Masters degree and provide a money back guarantee on their advice.
My adviser cant guarantee returns but he guarantees his advice or no charge.
If you have a defined benefit scheme then you are one of the lucky ones.