I hope you are well and managing to keep warm over these cold winter months.

Like the rest of the world, I've been absolutely loving the Olympic games including new sports that I never thought I would enjoy – hello skateboarding!

The whole Australian team has performed exceptionally well, with our female swimmers in particular dominating.

As always, the Olympics are a great reminder of the power of sports to inspire, uplift, and bring nations together. Hopefully we can have a strong finish over the next few days.

Speaking of strong finishes most clients will have achieved solid double digit returns powered by stronger investment markets over the FY24 financial year.  The start to FY25 has been less certain with US economic data and concerns around a possible US recession causing some recent market volatility.

Closer to home the latest Australian inflation data has us inching closer to the RBA's target range of 2-3%, but with little chance of an interest rate cut before March 2025.

Look out for a client update from us in the coming weeks, where our Investment Team will provide context to recent global and domestic market developments and offer their outlook for the year ahead.

Also, over the coming months, some of our advice teams are planning intimate and larger scale client appreciation events to mark our centenary year and the festive season. I look forward to catching up with many of you at these functions.

I hope you enjoy this edition of the Edge - as always if you have any feedback regarding our service, advice or investments please do not hesitate to contact me at ceo@sfg.com.au.

Terry