Dedication to you alone. We do not “follow the deals” or promote those providers that we can make the best financial gain from. This allows us to provide you with a unique strategy that benefits you, not us.
We have a proven record in assisting clients achieve their individual life dreams through quality tailored financial advice. Our number one focus is our clients. Time and understanding are placed on all our clients so that we can package the right financial services to help them. Holding our own Australian Financial Services License provides you with confidence that we really do act in your best interests. As a boutique business, we can offer truly personalised service and be available for clients whenever they need our help.
Aim to exceed your financial goals and objectives by thoroughly researching the products we recommend to you to ensure they will provide the maximum return for your strategy.
Dedication to you alone. We do not “follow the deals” or promote those providers that we can make the best financial gain from. This allows us to provide you with a unique strategy that benefits you, not us.
Value-added approach to servicing your investments in a way that exceeds your expectations and fosters close relationships. This allows you to have a passive or an active involvement into the ongoing management of your portfolio.
Innovative, cutting edge strategies that have been handed down from the industry leaders via personal development days, conferences, online training, workshops and other legislative ongoing training requirements.
Collaborative environment where we provide a total packaging solution covering financial planning, mortgages, accounting, conveyancing and investment property solutions.
Enthusiastic approach to meeting regularly with you to review, revive or reinvent your investing strategy and tax needs.
“My wife and I deeply appreciate the services of financial advisor, Sam El Shammaa. Sam has provided quality advice and professional service to us for the last few years now. He is friendly and approachable and gives advice that is easily understood. We trust him implicitly. Sam understands our financial goals and goes to every effort to make those goals a reality.
We have no hesitation in recommending Sam to those looking for help in how to best invest their money.”
I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Sam to those looking for a great service as well as anyone wanting to tap into his knowledge for securing their own financial future. Thanks a million Sam.”
"George keeps an attentive eye on our investments and is attuned to our needs. He always advises of variations that will be in our best interests. He is very responsive to our queries, listens and takes note of our views. He provides a clear and concise explanation of issues and consults with us on changes he identifies in our best interest. He acts quickly on recommendations as agreed and we look forward to continuing our association."
"George has provided consistent advice about saving and investment over many years that is tailored to our needs. He recognises our philosophy in terms of investment and provides a range of options for us to choose from. George is always happy to take the time to explain various strategies."
“We have been the clients of Sam El Shammaa for the last 20 years and would highly recommend his services. Sam have assisted us with our investments and self-managed super fund and we are happy with the results. He always explains the pros and cons of different approaches and recommend the most efficient financial vehicles for our needs. A number of my friends are also the Sam's clients and they also are very happy with his service. I will definitely continue to rave about Sam El Shammaa’s services”
"George has been great - a wonderful person to help navigate the financial challenges we face. He is consistent and highly responsive."
Sam has a values based rationale for his work, he has chosen this work as he sincerely wishes to assist people to increase their security, improves their lifestyles and increases their options. His advice has always done this for me and working with Sam I have the freedom to disagree and discuss and amend options with a trusted advisor. Nine years later I am financially secure, own several properties and have money in the bank.
"George is a friendly, responsive and knowledgeable advisor who has always made it his business to be aware of my wishes and circumstances. The advice given, allowing for the vagaries of the market, has been consistently sound."
“I have been a client of Sam El Shammaa for over 7 years now and in that time, have found Sam to be very knowledgeable about a variety of investment strategies and products. Furthermore, Sam has been very open to understanding my particular investment needs and together we have been able to discuss my wealth creation goals and have taken steps to try to achieve these goals in workable timeframes.
"George Pereira consistently demonstrates professionalism and courtesy. As a client, I have always found that Mr Pereira is attentive to my circumstances and individualises financial planning to suit my needs. I can, and do, recommend Mr Pereira to others."
“Sam has looked after me for over 10 years and although I'm abroad he is always responsive and gives sound objective advice. In addition, Sam is a genuine and warm person.”
"George is a dedicated professional who provides timely and sound advice subject to my needs. He takes the time to listen and shows a genuine interest in his clients. It's a pleasure working with him as my advisor."
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Director/Financial Planner
For more than 20 years, Sam has been a financial planner helping individuals and families achieve their financial planning goals, by providing advice on Investment Planning; Insurance Planning; Tax Planning; Retirement Planning; and Estate Planning. Working with a network of highly skilled professionals in Sydney he is dedicated to providing high-quality advice and integrated wealth management solutions that simplify and enhance the quality of his clients' lives.
Sam established his own firm in 1997 and has overseen its steady development and growth. Attention to detail, good listening skills and great empathy are symbols of his appreciation by his clients. He has built long-term relationships with his growing client base and aims to provide excellent customer service.
Sam began his financial planning career in 1993 after completing a Bachelor of Science degree in 1991. Since this time he has accumulated many professional qualifications such as:
Sam has volunteered with the Cancer Council of NSW and can be seen almost every year volunteering or participating in the 7 bridges walk.
Away from the business, he enjoys spending weekends with his son. He is also a football (soccer) tragic and is a massive Chelsea FC fan.
Head of Operations
Christian joined Capitalwise as Client Services Manager, with backgrounds in both customer service and administration.
Christian is passionate in providing excellent customer service by being attentive to client’s need as well as being able to circumnavigate challenges.
He holds a Master's degree in Commerce specialising in Marketing through the University of New South Wales.
Volunteering is one of his delights in life, where he had spent time being involved with the Centre for Volunteering, St Vincent de Paul's Society, and Sculpture by the Sea in a variety of positions.
Head of Client Services
Joanne is an integral part of the business and always greets our clients politely and with a jovial attitude. She has a “can do” attitude and goes above and beyond to make sure our clients service needs are catered to.
Joanne is a passionate and bubbly individual who enjoys putting a smile on everyone she meets. As an animal lover, she spends much of her free time with her dogs.
Client Services
Maya has recently started as Administration/Client Services Officer at Capitalwise, providing essential support to the Head of Client Services. She is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Sydney. Maya brings a strong academic foundation and practical experience gained from working as Financial Adviser Assistant at a local financial planning firm in her hometown of Tumut in regional NSW. She is enjoying this role as everyday she is learning something new. Outside of work, Maya loves to go the beach and swim.
Financial planning is all about working with you to develop the financial outcomes you’ll need throughout your life but primarily for financing your retirement and a hassle free retirement is worth aiming for. The earlier you start this journey the better the results.
The process we employ to attain these results are based on three core areas.
Whether considering options for yourself or deciding how best to help someone close to you, aged care can be a complex area requiring careful thought.
More Australians are using aged care services each year. Whilst it may seem daunting at first, the aged care system has improved significantly over the last few years, with a strong focus on ensuring help and resources are available to help you every step of the way. You can access aged care services through a non-government subsidised provider of aged care anytime. However, if you wish to access government subsidised aged care, the first step involves an ACAT assessment. This assessment will help identify the type of services you may be eligible for.
You can pay for these services yourself, plus there is also access to Government assisted care via several Government initiatives. Either way whether it is subsidised by the Government or not, for most people they want to remain in their homes for as long as possible. Even if it costs money to get this help & assistance, isn’t it worth it to remain in your home, & it is probably cheaper than residential aged care until that time comes that you have no alternative but to get residential aged care.
Your assessment will determine your eligibility to access services at home or in a residential aged care facility. If you are assessed as eligible to access services, you will receive an approval letter and support plan that sets out the services you are approved to access.
Currently, there are three main types of Government assisted aged care options in Australia:
Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP)
You may have been approved for the Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP). It is an entry level program for older people who need basic assistance with daily tasks to live independently at home. You are expected to contribute to the cost of your care if you can afford to. Also, you will need to discuss and agree to any fees with relevant service providers before you receive aged care.
The types of services you can receive under a CHSP include:
Visit the Government’s My Aged Care website (www.myagedcare.gov.au) or phone 1800 200 422 to find CHSP service providers in your area. You can access a list of providers contact details to find out whether a particular provider can suit your needs, how much they cost, and how they provide their services.
Home care packages
You may have been approved for a home care package. There are four levels of home care package available, from a package providing basic care needs (level 1) to a package providing high level care needs (level 4). Whilst there will be a subsidy that the government will pay towards your home care package (increasing with each package level), you will be expected to contribute to the cost of your care if you can afford to.
The types of services you can receive under a home care package include:
Finding a home care service provider Visit the Government’s My Aged Care website (www.myagedcare.gov.au) or phone 1800 200 422 to find home care service providers in your area, based on level of home care package you have been approved for. You can access a list of providers contact details to find out whether a particular provider can suit your needs, how much they cost, and how they provide their services.
Residential aged care
You may have been approved for services in an aged care home. If you decide this is right for you, it will be helpful to visit these homes so you can see for yourself whether it will provide you with the support you want. As you visit each aged care home, you may want to make a note of what you liked, didn’t like, and whether you would be happy to live there. This will help you decide which home would be most suitable. There may be different fees associated with each home.
Aged care homes can help you with:
Visit the Government’s My Aged Care website (www.myagedcare.gov.au) or phone 1800 200 422 to help you find aged care homes in your area. You can access the contact details of homes plus find a description of their services, costs, and any areas of care speciality they can help with.
The costs for residential aged care are separated into accommodation payments and ongoing care fees.
Accommodation cost:.
Each residential aged care home has different costs for living there. These can vary significantly dependent on location and status of the home. Your loved one may be asked to contribute to the accommodation costs.
They can pay the accommodation costs as a refundable lump sum, referred to as a refundable accommodation deposit (RAD), or in periodic payments, referred to as a daily accommodation payment (DAP). Or a combination of both.
If your loved one pays a RAD, this will be refunded to their estate when they vacate the care home
The accommodation costs are negotiated between your loved one and the aged care home but cannot exceed the amount published by the facility on the Government website www.myagedcare.gov.au
The basic daily fee
Cost: $50.66 per day (as at 1 January 2019), Amount paid by a resident in a year: $18,491.
The basic daily fee is used to cover the day-to-day expenses such as meals, laundry and cleaning etc. Everybody entering residential aged care is expected to pay this fee.
Usually the aged care provider will ask this fee to be paid fortnightly or monthly, and to be paid up to one month in advance.
The basic daily fee is an amount equivalent to 85% of the maximum basic rate of the Age Pension for a single person. As the Age Pension rate indexes twice a year, so will the basic daily fee. Find out more about the basic daily fee at www.myagedcare.gov.au
The means-tested care fee
Cost: Between $0 and $27,232 (capped) a year (as at 1 January 2019) Generally, a person with assets over $204,000 can be asked to pay a means-tested care fee. (Assessable assets as defined by the Aged Care Act 1997. Based on rates and thresholds as at 1 January 2019.)
The means-tested care fee is a contribution towards day-to-day care costs in an aged care home. The amount payable depends on two components – a combined income and assets assessment and the cost of the care for your loved one. However, there are annual and lifetime caps in place to limit the amount of the means-tested care fee they can be asked to pay.
Other costs
Other costs charged by the aged care provider should be advertised.
There are two types of extra fees:
Accommodation is usually the largest cost associated with the move to residential aged care. Frequently requiring the sale of many assets or large assets, strategies to fund accommodation is a key aspect of aged care advice. Although there are mechanisms in place for those with very little means to have their accommodation subsidised by the Government, there will still be many who will need to pay the published price of their chosen aged care home (or an amount agreed with the home).
There are many strategies to fund lump sums and/or ongoing payments, and depending on the resident’s circumstances, some can work better than others. The most commonly used strategies are:
1. selling existing assets to fund lump sums;
2. selling the former home where there are no other assets;
3. renting the home to fund ongoing payments;
4. accessing the Centrelink pension loan scheme;
5. loans from family members; and
6. releasing equity from the former home.
Your advisers can help you work out which is the best option for your loved one. Call us on 02 8599 0835 or e-mail to info@capitalwise.com.au
After a client enters residential aged care, decisions or factors beyond their control can impact both Age Pension entitlement as well as aged care costs.
These factors may include:
NO, you never have to sell your home if you don’t want to. Nobody can force you to sell your home.
Although once you see the financial outcome of various alternatives you may choose to sell your home.
Here is a summarised list of what to do, what is needed & where to go for help;
1. Get an Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT)
Arrange to have the person get an ACAT Assessment (Aged Care Assessment Team). The ACAT is your gateway into aged care. Without the ACAT assessment most aged care facilities won’t start the conversation.
This can be arranged by their doctor, or if the person is in hospital by the Social Workers or Discharge Planners. Alternatively, on the “My Aged care” website, click on the “find a service” tab, then click on “ACAT” type in the suburb & the contact details of the nearest ACAT is available. OR call 1800 200 422 & they can arrange an ACAT assessment for you.
NB Many Social Workers, Discharge Planners & even Aged Care facilities will tell you, that you MUST have the “Means Test Assessment” form (28 page Centrelink form) completed first- NB – WARNING- This is NOT a good idea until you have determined whether the person would be a Supported resident or not- only AFTER you have determined this, should you complete & send in the form- see next section
2. Determine whether the person would be a “Supported resident” or not
The Means test assessment mentioned above will determine 2 things:
Whether the person entering care is to be a “Supported resident” or an “Unsupported resident” ie is a Supported resident has less in assets & income & consequently the Government subsidises the aged care costs more than an Unsupported resident. See the definition of Supported & Unsupported by clicking on the hyperlink. Once the means test assessment has been completed, it is extremely hard to change. Also, there are ways of making some people supported when they are currently Unsupported, & also some aged care facilities do not accept supported residents
To determine how much Means Tested Fee will be charged. Keep in mind that the Means Tested Fee advised by the Department of Human Services is frequently wrong. It is in your best interests to determine what it should be, so that you know if the Government assessment is wrong or right.
It is a good time to seek expertise from an Aged Care Planner (Specialist is aged care) before proceeding to the next steps.
3. Visit Aged Care facilities
Once you have the ACAT assessment & determined whether the person is a Supported resident or not, you should then start visiting aged care facilities, to see which ones you like, that meet your needs e.g.
Whilst visiting aged care facilities ask them these questions;
4. Determine the best way to fund aged care
This is where most people need help guidance & expertise from an aged care specialist.
There are many ways of paying for your aged care, yes, it’s true you can pay a Refundable Accommodation Deposit or a Daily Accommodation Payment or combination, but HOW do you do that.
Don’t limit yourself to what you think are the only alternatives, there are often many other possibilities that you might not have considered, that may deliver a better outcome OR it is possible that turning the person into a Supported resident could save thousands of dollars a year.
5. Make the decision about which facility you want
Once you have narrowed it down to your preferred list of facilities, & they have a vacancy, determined their costs, obtained help from an aged care specialist to determine the best way for you to pay for aged care. Make your decision & advise the aged care facility you want to take the bed (keep in mind that if you take too long they may offer the bed to someone else, they must keep their beds as full as possible, so won’t have time for you to take too long to make your decision).
Tell them HOW you wish to pay for the Accommodation Contribution or Accommodation Payment. The aged care facility will then prepare the Residential Aged Care Agreement (contract) based on how you wish to pay for the Accommodation.
6. Complete the Means Test Form (SA457)
Centrelink form called ‘Permanent Residential Aged Care Request for a Combined Asset & Income Assessment”.
We believe you should complete this form only AFTER you have determined which facility you want. It is not always important to do this especially if the person is NOT going to be Supported. However, it is always better to be sure.We have had clients that could have been Supported, but weren’t because of;
There have been other instances where clients were Supported, but the aged care facility they wanted would not accept a supported resident, however the family would have paid the full Accommodation Payment for them, but once supported you can’t do that.
Most people don’t understand the importance & significance of getting this part right.
7. Sign the Residential Aged Care Agreement
The Residential Aged Care Agreement (contract) is basically the agreement which gets the two parties to agree that the facility will provide & deliver care & the resident will pay the fees. Naturally there is more to it than that, but however that is the essence of the agreement.
There is NO need to worry or panic about the agreement, it is not like a real estate contract, where once you have settled on the purchase of the property it is yours, you are stuck with it.
With Aged Care, if you want to leave, you tell the facility you are moving on, & if you have paid the lump sum (Refundable Accommodation Deposit) they refund it within 14 days & you move to another facility. That is, you are not stuck there for the rest of your life you can move to another facility if you like.
Beware that moving to another facility MAY change the funding arrangements & it is possible that you could lose your supported status, & you will need to do another Means Test form with Centrelink.
Buying your dream home? Wanting to invest in another property? At Capitalwise Home Loans we have in-depth knowledge of loans and options suitable for a range of different financial situations.
Taking on a loan is one of the most significant financial decisions you will make. It is an exciting time but it also can be a confusing and worrying process. As mortgage professionals we can relieve some of this stress as we know how the process works, how to navigate through the pitfalls and challenges, and how to access the myriad products available in the marketplace.
Capitalwise Home Loans can also provide you with specialised loan services and advice.
Capitalwise offers a comprehensive range of taxation and accounting solutions for both businesses and the individual. Let us help you take control of your financial future. Our team are committed to offer the highest level of service and welcome the opportunity to work with you.
Concentrate on running your business and let Capitalwise take care of all your business taxation requirements:
We also complete tax returns for individuals. They can be complex and there are allowable tax deductions and expense claims that can be made that you may not be aware of. We can help you minimise your payable tax and potentially increase your tax return and make sure your tax return is lodged on time. We also offer advice on:
Capitalwise can make sure your dreams become a reality. Buying your own home is often the first significant investment you will make. Purchasing another property may well be the second investment people will make even before shares and other assets.
Our objective is to help our clients make safe investment property decisions that create wealth for the long term.
Capitalwise has partnerships with many respected property agents and research firms. This enables us to source suitable properties for individuals, couples and families looking to make an investment into property.
Your estate is made up of everything that you own. This includes your home, property, furniture, car, personal possessions, business, investments, superannuation and bank accounts.
If you don't have a Will when you die or an invalid will, this is termed dying intestate. In this situation, state laws determine how your estate will be administered. This could result in your assets being distributed against your wishes. Alongside this, the improper distribution of your assets could incur avoidable tax liabilities and other expenses for your beneficiaries.
A will generally does not cover every aspect of your assets either, such as superannuation, trust assets and jointly held assets.
Given the risks of not having a proper estate plan in place, it is important to make sure that your plan is in order. This ensures that all of your assets will be distributed efficiently, tax-effectively and according to your wishes.
Secure File Transfer is a facility that allows the safe and secure exchange of confidential files or documents between you and us.
Email is very convenient in our business world, there is no doubting that. However email messages and attachments can be intercepted by third parties, putting your privacy and identity at risk if used to send confidential files or documents. Secure File Transfer eliminates this risk.
Login to Secure File Transfer, or contact us if you require a username and password.