The BiG Directory of money, finance and investing resources, comparison sites and giveaways

The Australian Independent Media Network (AIMN) “is a platform for citizen journalists and bloggers to write and engage in an independent media environment.”

Mainstream media – TV/Internet/Newspapers

ABC News Business, The Business

The Australian – Business review

Financial Review

7 Yahoo Finance ‘Our experts‘ – Peter Switzer, David Koch, Michael Pascoe, Michael Yardney, Peter Boehm, Aaron Lynch, John Abernethy, Andrew Page, David Taylor, Karina May, Simon Boulton, Marcus Padley, Louise Bedford, Bruce Jackson, Magdy Marcos, Julia Lee, Dr John Demartini, Donna Brond, Ben Stein, Robert Kiyosaki, James Ramsay, Richard Quest, Kathy Lien

9 ninemsn (and Financial Review Sunday) Areas they cover:

• Property
• Share market investing
• Insurance
• Loans and credit
• Managing money and tax
• Super and planning
• Planning
• Finding
• Selling online
• Customer service
• Sales and marketing

News.com.au: Finance, Money, Investing

Educated Investor Financial Bookshop. “Categories: Bargain Books; Trading; Technical; Psychology; Investment; Getting Started; Ebooks, Audio Books, DVD’s; Barefoot Investor Recommended Reading; CFD’s/ Contracts for Difference; Foreign Exchange/FX; Fundamentals; Options/Warrants; Superannuation; Software; Motivational Historical; Real Estate; Business/Management; Commodities; Financial Markets Futures; Leadership; Risk Management; Sales/Marketing; Newsletters”

MAGSHOP

The Adviser

Australian Broker

Australian Property Investor (API) (and see The Business Mall Property Investor’s Bookshop also has general investing, shares, superannuation, derivatives):

• Articles on specific regions, booming suburbs and potential hotspots
• Profiles of successful investors
  • Small property development projects
  • API Hot 100 – a list of the top 100 locations around the country hand-picked for their capital growth prospects
  • Retirement Strategies
  • Small Development Series
  • Young Guns
  • Roadmap to Wealth
  • The Interview Q and A
  • Case studies of specific projects

Austalian Quarterly

Australia’s Paydirt

Bloomberg Business Week

Business Acumen

The Economist

Forbes Asia

Fortune Asia

Gold Mining Journal

Harvard Business Review

Independent Financial Adviser

Marketing

Money “magazine helps you manage your finances by cutting through the jargon. Each month you’ll receive credible, independent and easy-to-understand financial advice from Australia’s most respected financial writers including Paul Clitheroe and Ross Greenwood.”

Mortgage Professionals Australia

SMSF Adviser

Success Business Magazine

Under the Radar Report – Small Caps

Your Investment Property “is the intelligent property owner’s choice when it comes to learning about Australia’s property market. [it] provides you with the most complete set of property data, independent commentary and thoroughly-researched articles about all aspects of investing in property in Australia and abroad. Every issue features in-depth analyses of the market trends that affect your investment. Practical tips and advice on how to manage and finance your investments are also featured regularly to help you make the best decisions. [it] carries the most comprehensive data section of any Australian property magazine, with extensive and exclusive data about every suburb in Australia to help you decide where to put your money. You also get independent expert advice on the best investment strategies for you as well as market analysis from Australia’s most trusted and experienced property experts. Plus, every month Your Investment Property carries exclusive information about Australia’s up-and-coming property hot spots; real-life success stories of ordinary, hardworking Australians who have achieved financial independence through property; and the latest and most practical legal, tax and financial advice to help you invest safely.” Free suburb reports: Newsletter.

Your Trading Edge

Major Street Publishing (MSP) “is an independently-owned publishing company that specialises in personal investment and business books, eBooks, newsletters and other publications.  Founded in October 2009, the aim is to educate readers to save, make, manage and invest their money. Experts are commissioned to write on all aspects of personal finance – from property and share market investing to taxation, superannuation and money management, as well as other business-related topics…categories:

Property & Wealth Creation

Books for Business

Super & Shares “

Fishpond “Absolutely Australia’s Lowest Prices. We won’t be beaten by anyone. Guaranteed … an online store selling books, music, movies, beauty products, toys, sporting and outdoor product, jewellery, kitchen products and homewares.”

These eBooks, blueprints, videos, CDs, DVDs, webinars, subscriptions and trials, may contain useful tips and information, often they’re teasers to a more substantial purchase. 

Be wary of giving credit card details. Often it’s almost impossible to cancel your subscription or you just forget – good luck getting a refund!

Throughout BiG, wherever I’ve found useful free products and special deals, I’ve include direct links to them. This saves you the hassle of overfilling your own inbox.

Independence, fees and commissions:

Be wary when choosing a planner that you’re getting independent advice and that their fees are reasonable, based on the returns they can get. Cheapest doesn’t mean the best. Commissions should become more transparent and more closely regulated following the Financial Services Royal Commission.

These sites and articles will help you choose and compare financial advisers:

Financial advice costs and Financial advice and you MoneySmart (ASIC)

InvestSmart including Eureka Report and Business Spectator is a paid service and free “Insights” with highly respected Alan Kohler (the finance bloke on the ABC with the charts and the fab sense of humour!)  and others. Grab a free 14 day trial of their broader services to see if they suit you.

Understanding the difference between wholesale and retail clients under FOFA MoneyManagement

Adviser Ratings (AR) “Australia’s first transparent and independent service to help you find, rate and review qualified financial advisers.”

Beddoes Institute – Most trusted advisers (App)

Canstar What is a Financial Planner & what to expect 7 Step Checklist

Choice Your guide to finding the best finanacial planner, Fixing financial advice campaign, – Lyndi’s story YouTube

MoneySmart (ASIC) Choosing a financial adviser (Especially its list of companies not licensed to give financial advice)

CPAAustralia (CPA) “Find a CPA (certified practising accountant) or financial planner”

Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA) – Directory to find a financial planner

Top10 financial planners

Yellow Brick Road – “How to pick a planner”

Boutique Financial Planners – Member List

SuperGuide

Compare Australian Credit Cards They claim: “Compare 250+ credit cards from 79 banks and brands. From low rate and no annual fee cards to 0% balance transfer and bonus points. Get the best offer for your needs and apply online.”

Money Buddy: They claim: “Based in Sydney, Money Buddy is an independent team of people interested in presenting personal finance information in a useful, easily-digested format. [It] covers home loans, credit cards, car loans, personal loans, bank accounts, tax, accounting, financial planning and calculators [and] features a local business directory for finding local business experts near you … we don’t endorse particular products or provide personal advice … We source our product data directly from institutions/providers and we keep this data as current as possible … [with our] search tool you can: Locate loan brokers or financial advisors in your area. Contact specific local businesses or allow us to match you with the best match. Search for local businesses specialising in home loans, car loans, personal loans, tax, accounting and financial planning.”

Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia  (MFAA) They claim: “The peak national body representing over 13,000 professional finance brokers.”

MoneySmart (ASIC) Scott’s Pape’s protect your finances money challenge (Video)

Compare the market

Health:
Private Health They say is: “a wealth of background material on private health insurance in Australia, a list of every registered health fund in Australia, the ability to search for health insurance policies and compare what is covered in each policy you have chosen.”

Info choice (includes stock brokers)

Funeral Cover:

Beware! Many funeral insurance policies play on your fear of death and guilt! Often prepaid funerals and funeral bonds are a much better alternative. Safer and cheaper and more regulated than insurance covers – suggests the Combined Pensioners and Superannuants Association (CPSA). 

What to do if you’ve received bad financial advice  and watch All you need to know about financial disputes – Maurice Blackburn Lawyers

Lawyers aren’t there just for when things go wrong. So as you, get into investing, starting a business, buying a property, doing a joint venture, or get into legal trouble – choosing the legal advice tailored to your particular issue is vital. Most Law Societies list solicitors, barristers and their specialties. Areas where you might need legal advice (often overlapping with accountants) are:

• banking and finance
• business sale and purchase
• business structuring
• capital raising
• construction and infrastructure
• corporate and commercial
• corporate immigration
• data and privacy
• disputes and litigation
• e-commerce
• employment
• franchising
• information technology
• intellectual property
• mergers and acquisitions
• patents
• property and leasing
• regulatory and compliance
• startups
• trademarks
• tax

The Law Handbook – Legal Services Commission SA, is an example of an extensive free resources from States and various organisations. It helps you understand the law that might apply to you and your finances, business and more.

MoneySmart (ASIC) has a section on where you can get Free legal advice in Australia.

Fortunately competition and increasing consumer awareness mean increased transparency and reliance on testimonials to help you choose a lawyer.
Here are just a few online sites to help (I haven’t checked out the lawyers, but their guides look useful. Contact me with any feedback):

Find Your Investment Lawyer Here – Law Path
Hire your perfect lawyer They say: “Find, compare and hire lawyers on Australia’s largest lawyer marketplace”
How to Choose a Lawyer – Websters Lawyers, South Australia
How to Choose a Lawyer for Your Small Business – Rose Lawyers
How to Choose a Small Business Lawyer – SprintLaw
How to Find a Good Conveyancer or Solicitor – On Property

You’ll also find lots of online advice law firms, many with free legal articles and document/template libraries (sometimes a FREE first document), such as:

Lawpath –  Extensive Legal Document Library (Free first document)
LegalVision which has a huge team in diverse areas of law and technology. They say: “is a commercial law firm with a commitment to innovation. We bring together lawyers and technologists to deliver efficient and cost-effective legal solutions for SMEs, startups and corporates across Australia and New Zealand.”

eTradesman

HomeOne – Home building and Renovation

Home Source

The Independent – Property Tradesmen (UK)

Quotify

Service

Trade Connect

TrueLocal

Word of mouth online

5 Tips for Outsourcing Every Online Entrepreneur Needs

The Complete Guide to Outsourcing and The 6 Best Online Outsourcing Websites of 2020 (and how to use them) of 2020 (and how to use them) – Time Doctor :

• Upwork
• Freelancer.com
• Guru
• Amazon’s Mechanical Turk
• DesignHill
• Fiverr

Property investment professionals:

Property Investment Professionals of Australia (PIPA) “Our aim is to be the peak Property Investment Industry Association. Our members subscribe to a Code of Conduct which considers all consumers and commits to disclosure and a high standard of Best Practice. All of our members must work toward obtaining the Qualified Property Investment Adviser (QPIA®) qualification which will ensure that consumers can confidently deal with them, knowing that they have a minimum level of expertise and are continuing with regular professional development.”

Real estate agents:

In the BiG Shop (below) we only list real estate agents or other ancillary provides that we, or our members, have used, or who have paid for advertising (all are subject to comments and review).

We’re not a real estate agent ‘yellow pages’ as the internet already has many directories (e.g. in the various real estate institute member sites).

In many blogs and forums investors discuss their experiences with agents and real estate issues in general, such as commissions. Some are:

• Share Investing Strategies and Theories Forum PropertyChat (investing generally)
• PropertyChat – previously Somersoft (property)
• Whirlpool (internet in general)

Tips and Sites to help you find a real estate agent:

How to select the right real estate agent Finder

Property Investment Professionals of Australia (PIPA) Helping and protecting consumers with property investment

Real Estate Monitors “We help you choose and deal with an agent. You choose, we monitor”, 7 Questions to ask an agent when selling

Open Agent

Rate my Agent

Sell my castle – Local Agent Finder

Buyers agents:

Real Estate Buyers Agents Association of Australia (REBAA) – Why investors should consider using a buyer’s agent

Rental Properties/Landlords:

Don’t Rent Me “Review & list bad landlords, bad property managers and bad rental properties.”

Analysis and Data: The Financial Standard and Morningstar

Shares:

Guidelines from ASIC MoneySmart

How to Buy and Sell Shares

On a share exchange

There are five public share exchanges in Australia. Four of them directly supervise the companies that issue the shares that trade on their markets. The fifth exchange, Chi-X, currently only provides the infrastructure for trading shares already quoted on the ASX.

The four exchanges:

1. Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) – the main securities exchange in Australia
2. Chi-X – an exchange that trades company shares already quoted on the ASX, but does not list or supervise the companies
3. National Stock Exchange of Australia (NSXA) – a securities exchange that lists about 70 small to medium sized companies
4. SIM Venture Securities Exchange (SIM VSE) – an exchange for innovative companies involved in the clean technology, renewable energy and bio science field

Using a broker:

Important considerations ASX

2 types of brokers:

• online or phone broking service or ‘discount’ or ‘execution only’ broker – make your own investment decisions, or
• full service broker – they provide advice and recommendations

Find a broker:

The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) find a broker tool

Check if the broker uses dark pools or internalisation to execute trades, as this may impact on the price you pay for shares.

Managed Funds:

Choosing a managed fund MoneySmart (ASIC)

Picking a Funds Manager clearday

Superannuation:

SuperRatings

Choosing a Superfund MoneySmart (ASIC)

Choosing Your Superfund ATO

Get price