By Ed Charles THE question has been exercising the minds of the wealthy forever — how to ensure the kids don’t blow the family fortune. Private banks report that independent advice on investment strategies for the intergenerational transfer of wealth is one of the fastest growing areas of demand. This is especially so in the case of business owners considering retirement. Goldman Sachs JBWere private wealth management managing director Paul Heath says private banking clients are usually successful people who […]
Month: February 2007
AT YOUR SERVICE – HOW TO JOIN A PRIVATE BANK – YOUR BANK, EXCLUSIVELY
By Ed Charles COVER STORY Qualifying is half the battle to be a customer of a private bank, Ed Charles reports THE world of private banking consists of an exclusive club of retail bank clients and an elite club of global private bank clients. The level of personal service you get and what you pay will depend very much on how much money you have. At the very least for membership of this club you will need assets of about […]
Ed Lines
In the first of a new weekly column, ED CHARLES dishes up the latest on Melbourne’s food and bars HARD ROCK The Hard Rock Cafe (1 Bourke St, city) will close this year to be replaced by shops as part of a refurbishment of the Windsor Hotel. Rubbish bins in the next-door alley, Windsor Place, will be swapped with cafes and restaurants, making a new eat street. No fixed plans for Hard Rock Cafe yet. BAR HUMS The Red Hummingbird […]
Five things you didn’t know about me
I’ve been tagged by Andrea, an Australian living in Paris, from Buy Organic for the “five things” meme. Sorry it has taken me a while… 1. I was exposed in The Australian today. Yes, it is true that this food blogger soon becomes part of the “enhanced” food media landscape. I was first approached by the Herald Sun (Australia’s biggest selling daily newspaper) last November, it firmed up earlier this month and I finally signed a contract last Wednesday. The […]
For beautiful bread, historic oven proves old ways still best
THE CURIOUS COOK 
 IT’S 11pm at the Portarlington Bakehouse, on Victoria’s Bellarine Peninsula, and the wood-fired oven is still warm from the morning’s baking. I watch as Terry Christofi lights some pieces of newspaper stuffed between the old palings in the oven’s firebox; flames shoot out. Christofi taps on the antique brass temperature gauge, waiting for it to reach 800F on the old scale (almost 430C). The baker is making these preparations in the middle of the night because […]
Waging guerilla war
You can create a marketing buzz on a small budget, writes Ed Charles IT’S the classic business dilemma. You’re launching into a crowded market and the main competition has a marketing budget of tens of millions of dollars, whereas you have a few thousand. You can’t compete head-on. The only option is to use your wits and creativity to create a marketing buzz out of nothing. Welcome to the world of guerilla marketing. The term was coined by Jay Conrad […]
The new cards on the block: pre-paid or cash

They’re just the shot as a gift for travellers or for those who don’t have credit cards, Ed Charles reports THE pre-paid credit and cash-card market is barely nine months old, yet there are already more than six cards on the market, with more predicted to be launched this year. They can be used for internet transactions and telephone shopping by people who have traditionally shunned credit cards. “It is definitely an area of growth in the credit card market,” […]
Hotel etiquette Battambang style
I’m not sure whether or not I’m meant to feel reassured or frightened in a country where hotels feel the need to remind me than guns and grenades are not wecome. At Hotel La Noria in Siem Reap I think I was safe. With its leafy garden and swimming pool it is a comfortable escape from the bustle on the street at a cost of $40 plus a night. It is also reassuring that being a Childsafe hotel – one […]
Top cinema sweets
From my niece clanky: 1 Maltesers 2 M&Ms – Peanut – Chocolate – Mixed – Crispy 3 Skittles 4 Pick ‘n Mix – Fantails – Minties – Chicos (never heard of these)