Anyone who has invested in either shares or property over the past five years has been impacted by this downturn, and with nearly every Australian having some indirect exposure to shares and property, via their superannuation funds, the interest in investment performance has never been greater.

So what can be done to minimise investment losses in a down market?

Unfortunately so much time is spent analysing investments and researching markets that many people tend to neglect their underlying strategy. In many ways it is like putting the cart before the horse. You need both to get to where you want to go but if we have them lined up in the wrong order it is counter-productive.

When dealing with financial matters, you can have the greatest investments in the world, but if the strategy and structure are not right then investment returns can be eroded by tax. It is therefore important to not only consider investments, when implementing a long term wealth accumulation plan, but also give due consideration to strategy i.e. tax planning, ownership structures, etc.

A carefully formulated financial planning strategy can provide significant tax savings and lessen the blow of poorly performing investments.

If you think your financial planning strategy is not quite up to scratch I would strongly suggest consulting your adviser.