Marc Bineham

The inaugural Your Money and Your Life (YMYL) Expo, due to kick off on Friday November 9 at the International Convention Centre, Darling Harbour has come at a perfect time to help people through what is shaping up to be a tough financial stint.

“It is a scary time for our economy, a rollercoaster share market, falling property market, credit squeeze from the banks, not to mention low wages growth,” said YMYL Host David Koch. “YMYL is a free two-day festival of finance with great finance and investment experts on hand, happy to answer anyone’s questions and give people guidance.”

A joint initiative of the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA)’s Your Best Interests (YBI) program and David Koch’s Pinstripe Media, the YMYL Expo will run for two full days, Friday 9 and Saturday 10 November, offering a range of sessions aimed at helping Australians at every stage of life.

“This is not just an expo for the rich,” David said. “Whether you are a millennial starting out, a family trying to make ends meet, a retiree hoping you don’t run out of money while leading a lifestyle you want, there truly is something for everyone.”

David and Libby Koch will be speaking on Saturday 10 November, sharing their insights into Money Makeover, the four-week course they designed for people to save better, spend better and invest better.

AFA National President, Marc Bineham, said other sessions at the expo will cover issues like sorting out debt and helping kids understand money, all the way through to shares, property and retirement. “Via a fun, entertaining and interactive educational program, YMYL is designed to ignite greater interest in money and empower more people to take better control of their financial future.”

People who register to come along to the YMYL Expo can go into a draw to win a holiday package for two staying at the RACV Royal Pines Resort on the Gold Coast with a total prize pool value of $3,000. The prize includes:

• 3 nights accommodation
• 2 person spa accommodation voucher, including breakfast
• Return economy saver flights to Coolangatta

Authorised under NSW permit number: LTPS/18/29270 Terms and conditions download. Register here.

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Marc Bineham

As part of the vision to deliver great advice to more Australians, the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) has partnered with David Koch’s Pinstripe Media, to launch the inaugural Your Money and Your Life (YMYL) Expo to be held at the International Convention Centre, Darling Harbour, November 9 and 10, 2018.

The YMYL Expo is a free consumer event, offering people a wonderful opportunity to discover the value of financial advice by learning how to better engage with their money.

“We know that financial issues are a major cause of stress for people and have a significant impact on work, relationships and health,” said AFA National President and YMYL convenor Marc Bineham. “We also know that good advice helps them, however many find the process daunting.”

Mr Bineham said many people don’t understand what financial advice is, don’t know what good advice looks like, and are often too embarrassed or, given recent events like the Royal Commission, too wary to seek help.

“Over the course of the year we have also received a lot of feedback from members. We have listened to this feedback and believe it is our role to help change this consumer view and provide a positive message to the Australian community on the value of financial advice.”

The YMYL Expo is about taking the mystery out of money so that people are inspired to learn and understand more about their finances.

“Via an informative program and a fun, entertaining and interactive format, it is designed to help break down barriers, to make the world of finance more accessible and more easily understood and to help point consumers in the right direction to access financial advice,” Mr Bineham said.

Over the two days of the YMYL Expo, visitors will have the opportunity to hear from informed speakers, connect with leading experts within the financial services sector and engage with interactive wealth management tools at expo stands.

“We are proud to partner with Pinstripe Media to deliver the inaugural YMYL Expo, which we hope will become an annual event,” Mr Bineham said. “David Koch is very familiar with our industry and very familiar to consumers. The partnership provides us with access to Pinstripe’s far-reaching platforms which means we will be able to deliver many parts of the expo program to Australians right across the country.”

Content from the YMYL Expo will be provided nationally through the AFA’s Your Best Interest program and sessions will be available via webcast and across social media. The content will also be used over the coming year to help consumers connect with their finances and to highlight the value of advice. “The value of the expo to both consumers and advisers therefore extends far beyond the two-day event,” Mr Bineham said.

The expo has attracted a range of financial services exhibitors from across the industry as well as lifestyle providers, helping fund the event. “We believe that our industry has a very real collective responsibility to educate, inform and demystify financial matters for consumers while providing a positive, proud message of the good work they do every day on behalf of Australians.”

Mr Bineham said the lifestyle component of the expo is just as important, as good financial advice helps many Australians through significant life events from marriage, children, funding school fees, travel, buying property right through to retirement and aged care.

“Showcasing lifestyle exhibitors and providing information to consumers in these areas is central to financial wellbeing,” he said. “Life balance and having control of your money is what underpins it all. We believe the YMYL Expo will encourage Australians to take an interest in and seek greater control of their financial future; to value quality financial advice, and to realise the power and impact advice can have on their personal wellbeing.”

If interested in becoming an Exhibitor or Sponsor for this exciting new initiative, please contact our Events Team on 02 8850 4200.

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Wyatt Roy

H2Ocean Ltd, a company which invests in a diversified global portfolio of early and growth stage financial technology (fintech) companies, says it is delighted to be extending the reach of its Initial Public Offering (IPO) and offering shares to retail investors through fintech firm OnMarket.

“We are delighted that investors can subscribe for H2Ocean shares through OnMarket, a fintech in its own right, and a platform that is designed to allow retail investors to access IPOs just like H2Ocean,” said Ben Heap, co-founder of H2Ocean.

H2Ocean is set to list on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) on October 16 and is looking to raise up to $55 million via its IPO. The minimum investment size is $2,200, and all Australian investors can participate. The offer closes on October 11.

For an interview with Ben Heap, visit the OnMarket website where he answers five questions about H2Ocean and its IPO.

The IPO will provide investors with the opportunity to access a diversified portfolio of typically privately held fintech ventures, with the objectives of delivering capital growth and providing an investment alternative to traditional listed equities.

Nick Motteram, a managing director of OnMarket BookBuilds, said H2Ocean chose to offer its IPO to the public using the OnMarket portal to get a broader reach to investors.

“There is growing awareness in Australia of the huge potential that fintech has to transform our financial system and disrupt the traditional financial institutions. Fintechs like OnMarket BookBuilds have strong growth potential and H2Ocean is backing the sector because of the significant opportunity that exists to provide more efficient and consumer focussed financial services using technology,” Motteram said.

Brothers Ben and Toby Heap are the co-founders and directors of H2Ocean, and will be joined on the board by non-executive directors, media personality David Koch, Wyatt Roy, the former federal innovation minister, and Beyond Bank chairman Anne O’Donnell.

“Through H2Ocean, we are allowing all investors access to fintech investments – the companies that are disrupting or reshaping financial services as we know it today – as a hedge against traditional bank and insurance investments that are at risk of digital disruption,” said H2Ocean’s Heap.

The Australian IPO market gained momentum in August, with the 10 companies which listed raising $1.2 billion and returning an average 34.1%, according to a new report, the OnMarket August IPO Report 2016.

The average monthly return from the August IPOs compared to a 2.3% drop for the S&P/ASX 200. Year-to-date returns have been strong at 24.8% compared with 13% for the same period in 2015.

These returns build on an impressive IPO performance in 2015, when the average return of the 93 companies that listed on the ASX that year was 23%. That return compares well with the S&P/ASX 200, which lost 3% in the same period, led by losses for large-cap stocks.

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