Christmas Message & End of Year Market Wrap

It’s been a big year for all of us, as we began living in the “new normal.” Over the past 12 months:

• We added Tarje, Brad and Michelle to our team and all three have proven to be fantastic additions to the office.
• Kym Coleman, previously Colin’s Client Services Manager, completed her professional year and is now a dedicated financial adviser providing holistic advice to our clients. Congratulations to Kym!
• We also farewelled the wonderful Karine Mathews, who retired in March, with James, Todd, Kym and Tim taking over the relationships with each of Karine’s clients.
• We continued to enjoy the transition to a hybrid work model, with staff splitting their working hours between home and the office. This has enhanced work/life balance for many of our team and has led to an increase in productivity overall.
• Away from the office, many of our team have also been able to travel to see family and friends for the first time in a number of years and all returned to the office full of energy and with big grins on their faces.
• In May, we also held our second annual Charity Walk and raised funds for our chosen charity Beyond Blue.

When looking back at the economy and markets at the end of each year, hindsight is always a wonderful thing. Over the past 12 months, we saw the following:

• A change in government, with Anthony Albanese’s labor government taking charge. While this rarely has as big an impact on markets as politicians like to think, the election of a number of “teal” Independents gives an interesting insight into how some would like to see the country run.
• Unemployment reached 50 year lows. This was great for job seekers and job security but made things tough for employers trying to attract and retain staff.
• It became apparent that inflationary pressures, initially driven by short term lack of supply, wasn't exactly as short term as reserve banks around the world thought. As a result, cost of living pressures have risen globally but particularly in Europe.
• Interest rates also rose quicker than they ever have before. This not only impacted the share market and the property market, but also the typically safe bonds market. This made it one of the toughest 12 month investment periods on record for those with a diversified portfolio.
• The cryptocurrency bubble burst, with Bitcoin down approximately 60% this year. The industry - that prides itself on being unregulated, showed itself to be unable to fulfil promises, risky and prone to unscrupulous marketing practices - largely because it is unregulated.

We hope you all enjoy a well deserved break and some time with your friends and family over the holiday period and we look forward to working with you again in 2023.

Our offices are now closed and will reopen on Monday, January 9 2023.

Merry Christmas!

The Tempus Wealth team