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30 April 2024
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Australian retail investors remain wary of the rising stock market. In fact, they are more defensively positioned than at the height of the Covid crisis, crowding primarily into domestic large cap companies.
The Australian retirement funding system relies on three pillars: the age pension, superannuation and voluntary savings. Most retirees have their wealth tied up in the family home, so what role does it play?
Risk isn’t something to be avoided altogether. To achieve returns beyond the government bond rate, some level of risk must be accepted. Assessing which risks to take and calibrating them is the investor's challenge.
Super is reducing reliance on the age pension for the majority of people entering retirement. Most newly-retired Australians are not accessing the age pension at all, and only 25% of 66-year-olds are drawing a full age pension.
Many SMSF trustees rely heavily on the Top 10 stocks on the ASX for income including franking, but the capital preservation has not been good. The franking debate was a good reminder to reconsider the asset allocation.
Watch the exact timing of super contributions to create a tax deduction, especially this year, and anyone with a pension that reverts to another person on death has particular timing issues to address.
What do many of Australia’s top experts in superannuation and retirement planning think the government should focus its policies on? A long article but with many interesting ideas.
Three weeks to go before the EOFY is still enough time to comply with the rules and make the most of superannuation and income tax opportunities. Here's a quick checklist.
With more people living longer, retirement expectations are being reshaped and redefined. Now is the time to consider the financial and cultural solutions for making the most out of the gift of a longer life.
To avoid retreating from making investment decisions during uncertainty, investors are compelled to rely on 'rules of thumb' to guide them in decision-making. Here are many of the more popular commonly-used rules.
This analysis suggests that Australian investors who lose franking credit refunds under the Labor proposal should significantly increase holdings of global equities to meet an efficient investment frontier.
Rarely do we go into an election with such contrasting policies from the major parties, and no more so than in superannuation. The nation's decision on 18 May will have a big impact on retirement savings.
The ATO has released all the superannuation rates and thresholds that will apply from 1 July 2024. Here's what’s changing and what’s not, and some key considerations and opportunities in the lead up to 30 June and beyond.
Life has radically shifted with my brain cancer, and I don’t know if it will ever be the same again. After decades of writing and a dozen years with Firstlinks, I still want to contribute, but exactly how and when I do that is unclear.
How useful are the retirement savings and spending targets put out by various groups such as ASFA? Not very, and it's reducing the ability of ordinary retirees to fully understand their retirement income options.
Australia will have 3.7 million more people in a decade's time, though the growth won't be evenly distributed. Over 85s will see the fastest growth, while the number of younger people will barely rise.
Being rich is having a high-paying job and accumulating fancy houses and cars, while being wealthy is owning assets that provide passive income, as well as freedom and flexibility. Knowing the difference can reframe your life.
Investor disgust, consolidation, de-listings, price discounts, activist investors entering - it’s what typically happens at business cycle troughs, and it’s happening to LICs now. That may present a potential opportunity.