Up until recently, Ian and Nikki’s retirement plan was pretty simple: work hard to accumulate as much superannuation as possible. Like most everyday Australians, they were hoping their super would grow to a point where they had a balance that was large enough for them to retire comfortably, free from financial stress, so they could relax and make the most of life after work.
However, after witnessing friends and family members’ super balances take a hit when the stock market crashed, they began to lose confidence in this strategy. Suddenly, relying on superannuation alone began to feel risky.
So, they actively started looking for an alternative strategy that would provide them with more control over their investments—and our Property Portfolio Accelerator Program proved to be the ideal fit.
In this case study, we share how we helped Ian and Nikki kickstart their investment portfolio and helped them purchase two properties in six months.
Ian and Nikki’s story
In the Global Financial Crisis of 2008, Ian and Nikki watched their parents’ superannuation balance suffer heavy losses just before they were due to retire and saw firsthand how devastating this could be. Nikki’s dad was forced to return to work for an additional five years to cover some of the losses, while Ian’s parents and some work colleagues also lost significant amounts of their wealth which negatively impacted their lifestyle and future plans. This was the catalyst for them to start researching investment alternatives.
Finding the right strategy
When Ian and Nikki heard about our Property Portfolio Accelerator Program, they were intrigued and wanted to learn more. The program involves setting up a self-managed super fund (SMSF) to leverage your super to invest in property, allowing you greater control over how your super is invested. Both admitted initially feeling unsure about switching to an SMSF as they didn’t know much about it and had heard it was a lot of work. They attended our online webinar to find out how the strategy worked and discovered it was possible to take control of your investments and invest in bricks and mortar with the support of our team of experts who manage the fund on your behalf. For this reason, we often refer to our model as an SMMSF—a self-managed ‘managed’ super fund.
What Nikki liked most about switching to an SMSF was knowing exactly where their money was. They no longer had to worry about financial loss when the share market next crashed, as it did recently during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ian agreed the security of a tangible investment was reassuring.
‘With bricks and mortar security, you don’t feel like your money is in someone else’s account. The security is always there if we need it.’
Excited by what this investment strategy could potentially achieve, they took the next step and booked an initial 10-minute meeting to discuss their suitability in more detail. They liked what they heard so we set up further strategy sessions and got the ball rolling.
Distance no problem
As our offices are based in Queensland and Ian and Nikki are located in Tasmania, all our meetings and strategy sessions were conducted via phone or video calls. Although neither Ian or Nikki were particularly tech savvy and it was a bit of a learning curve in the beginning, communicating in this way actually worked out really well. It allowed us the flexibility to work around their work schedules, and also to be super efficient with our time which sped up the process overall and made it possible to find and secure their first investment property sooner.
Two properties in 6 months… and counting
The Property Portfolio Accelerator strategy has been the perfect fit for Ian and Nikki. Within the first six months they had purchased two investment properties—the first in January and the second in May—and they understandably couldn’t be happier!
‘I was really overwhelmed that we were able to get into our second property so quickly.’
Both Ian and Nikki were amazed at how easy and stress-free it is to build your property portfolio in this way. As Nikki explains, with their support team behind them, securing their financial future actually requires very little time or energy input from them.
‘My biggest fear was that it would be a lot of work for me—but it turned out to be not a lot of work for me at all!’
For Ian, the ease of contact and communication continues to be a big plus. Having a team of professionals working on their behalf provides a good support network and gives them confidence moving forward.
‘The other organisations we work with are so responsive. Our emails are answered and action is taken on the same day.’
What’s next?
We now look forward to helping Ian and Nikki in the coming years to continue to sustainably build their property portfolio—and to ultimately give them a passive income that allows them to live off their rental returns and achieve financial freedom.
To find out more about our Property Portfolio Accelerator Program and discover if it could work for you, get in touch with our friendly team or download the free 10-point checklist today!
