Important Information:

Some site functionality may be unavailable due to site maintenance from 05:00 until 12:00 on Sunday 20th October. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Plan your goals, and plan to win

Meet the personalities behind nabtrade. When it comes to roadblocks, Carmel Mortell is a bulldozer. In her early 30‘s she had her first investment property, followed by a partnership in international accounting firm KPMG, where she is now Victorian Chairman. That’s just a few of her accomplishments.
J006365 - International Womens Day 2023_Rollout_v1.1_AW

When it comes to roadblocks, Carmel Mortell is a bulldozer. A low socio-economic background when growing up as the youngest of five siblings did not prevent her being the first is her family to get a degree. In her early 30‘s she had her first investment property, followed by a partnership in international accounting firm KPMG, where she is now Victorian Chairman. That’s just a few of her accomplishments.

Carmel is also a keen advocate of equality, and is a director of UN Women Australia, Women Corporate Directors, and a founding member of the 30% Club in Australia – which advocates for women in decision making positions. She is also a member of the Risk and Audit Committee of Melbourne Girls Grammar School.

Obviously, time is a precious commodity for Carmel, but she still manages to look after the family investments.

She says, “I don’t shift investments around, I look to long term investments, which suits what I am trying to achieve, but also has the added benefit of being easy to manage and does not require too much time.

While Carmel receives a lot of good intentioned advice, particularly around shares, much of it is like water on a ducks back. As a KPMG partner, Carmel faces a lot of restrictions on what companies she can invest in, so as to avoid conflicts of interest. It’s the same with investing offshore, and despite having worked in the United States and United Kingdom, Carmel’s portfolio of investments is domestically positioned.

And it is all long term: “For me, investing is putting your excess savings to work over an extended period to maximise your returns while minimising risk. I don’t have short term profit goals,” she says.

With a portfolio comprised of shares, property, superannuation and fixed income, Carmel has a diversified set of assets, and given the level of volatility in recent years has also been an investor in hybrids - which is a security that combines elements of debt securities (typically bonds) and equity securities (typically shares).

“Because I invest long term I tend to ride-out periods of turbulence, although in very rough times I do get a bit more directed on asset allocation, says Carmel. 

Carmel’s best advice for an investor is a classic, and it has become a classic because those that ignore it can get into significant difficulties: “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

She also encourages people to take an interest in share and fixed income markets so they build their education and can make better investment decisions. Another important aspect, she says, is to understand what type of investor you are and the risk you are prepared to accept. “We all invest to make money, but your goals (like retirement) have to be considered, and so does the possibility that you may lose money – are you prepared for that?”

 

 

The nabtrade service is the information, trading and settlement service provided by WealthHub Securities Limited ABN 83 089 718 249 AFSL No. 230704 (WealthHub Securities). WealthHub Securities is a Market Participant under the ASIC Market Integrity Rules and a wholly owned subsidiary of National Australia Bank Limited ABN 12 004 044 937 AFSL No. 230686 (NAB). NAB doesn’t guarantee its subsidiaries’ obligations or performance, or the products or services its subsidiaries offer. Click here for the terms of use about the nabtrade service provided by WealthHub Securities. This article contains general advice only and has been prepared without considering your objectives, financial circumstances or needs. Before acting on any general advice or information in this article, you should consider the appropriateness of the general advice or information with regard to your objectives, financial circumstances or needs and you should obtain and consider the relevant Product Disclosure Statement, Terms and Conditions, Financial Services Guide and any other disclosure document. The information or general advice provided in this article reflects the personal views of the interviewee about investment strategies and other subject matters discussed. The views of the interviewee do not necessarily reflect the views of WealthHub Securities or NAB. Subject to any terms implied by law and which cannot be excluded, neither WealthHub Securities nor NAB shall be liable for any errors, omissions, defects or misrepresentations in the information or general advice (including by reasons of negligence, negligent misstatement or otherwise) or for any loss or damage (whether direct or indirect) suffered by persons who use or rely on the general advice or information. If any law prohibits the exclusion of such liability, WealthHub Securities and NAB limit its liability to the re-supply of the information, provided that such limitation is permitted by law and is fair and reasonable. 

© National Australia Bank Limited ABN 12 004 044 937 AFSL and Australian Credit Licence 230686.


About the Author
Damon Frith , nabtrade

An award winning journalist, Damon Frith, joined NAB this year as its wealth editor, a position he had previously held with Citibank. Prior to that he was a finance journalist, including a stint as the chief business writer for BRW Magazine, and senior reporter for The Australian and Australian Financial Review. A bit of a nomad, he has lived in remote locations like Bunbury in Western Australia to the Southern Highlands in NSW, and many places in-between.