Yesterday’s release of the Royal Commission’s Report into Financial Services and Banking will hopefully bring renewal and well-founded trust into this vital part of our lives. It was amazing to hear anyone say that it was time to put customers’ interests as the top priority. Hasn’t it always been number one? We have a basic expectation that everywhere we deal with others, that they’ll respect our rights and do the right thing by us – and they can expect the same from us.

In this “Keeping in Touch”, we celebrate the life of Jack Bogle, founder of Vanguard who passed away on 16 January, aged 89. Since 1974 he had grown Vanguard to be a funds management company that held its investors’ interests as top priority. His life really meant a great deal to many people and his legacy lives on in Vanguard.

Aged Care continues to need greater focus. The Royal Commission will hopefully lead to genuine improvements. Setting ratios of appropriately qualified staff (especially Registered Nurses) to residents is vital. Reducing the wait time to access Home Care is also vital. At a recent ACAT assessment, I was concerned to hear the assessor saying that the wait before a package became available could be 24 months. Last February it was 12 months.

Hopefully you can find some value in the other stories in this month’s ‘letter’ as well – and all stories are always available via our ‘app’: news.finsprings.net. There are stories about the importance of checking your travel insurance; a reminder that you can opt out of the “MyHealth Records” system at any time – but that the AMA now backs its use; and even an article on “Risk Assessment for Businesses” can have personal application – the process of assessing what could go wrong with your financial situation and what plans you have.

Hope it’s a great month for you.

Tom, Maria, Veronica and Kerrie

at Financial Springs