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Friday, 22 November 2019
Recently trending OK Boomer: fessing up that we’ve had it goodFour reasons to engage a financial adviserReader poll on the home in pension assets testFocus on quality yield, not near-term incomeRetire ‘retirement’: how brands misunderstand ageing
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A global portfolio of infrastructure assets allows trends in one part of the world to be recognised early in another, while companies with pricing power and high barriers to entry enjoy extra resilience.
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It's been a strong year for the stockmarket, and a good decade since the end of the GFC. However, there are signs the bull will stop running soon, and portfolios should be positioned in advance.
As we approach the 2020s, we are sailing into uncertain waters at best. These times also have some historical precedents, but we need to make important reforms before our luck runs out.
Regulators are insisting that large super funds become more innovative to assist their clients, but what are the traps within businesses that inhibit creativity and fresh solutions?
Equity market vigilanties, particularly resisting poor Initial Public Offerings (IPOs), are showing the benefits of active managers not simply buying everything put in front of them.
While every generation has its unique opportunities, the majority of Firstlinks readers agree that Boomers have had a better run than others. But the real highlights here are in the comments.
1997 Nobel Laureate Robert Merton wants greater focus on the income that will sustain a retirement, and even Jane Austen understood this. And he has a surprising proposal to help with longevity risk.
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Welcome to Firstlinks Edition 333
This week, JP Morgan downgraded its global growth outlook for 2020 by 0.2% to 2.3%, blaming 'population ageing'. Then Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said: "As our ageing population puts pressure on our health, aged care and pension systems, we need to develop policies that respond effectively."Read More.
The pre-Boomer generations faced global wars and depressions, but Australians born after 1946 have enjoyed prosperity. Superannuation, education, strong markets and surging property prices locked in gains.
Young woment are showing increasing confidence in the sharemarket, promising a better future than the Boomers and Gen X women who hold significantly less assets than males of their generation.
Fossil fuel divestment can impact a company’s prospects, and push capital into renewables. Refusing to invest in companies that cause climate change denies their social licence to operate.
A fund manager that can short sell stocks with weak investment characteristics while reinvesting the proceeds in long positions in preferred stocks has a high degree of flexibility.
Many investors are tempted by high yields on shares, but when they are not sustainable, and in weak businesses, the outcome is disappointing compared with better quality and lower yields.
Over 50s make up 27% of Australia’s population and hold 50% of private wealth. Yet only 2% of marketing briefs focus on targeting this audience, which is active, ambitious, purposeful and diverse.
Prolonging a recovery with stimulus could lead to a worse slump later. Even today, policymakers are haunted by actions taken in 1937 which led to a loss of production and jobs and a falling GDP.
Global trends will create opportunities in Asia, including dealing with some of the world's youngest and oldest populations. Australia's Free Trade Agreement with ASEAN this week a valuable step.
Global central banks are delivering a sugar hit that markets are relying on, but it is unsustainable. Interest rates cannot continue to be cut into negative territory forever.
A close inspection of Reserve Bank Board minutes, the implications of US Fed moves, the way unemployment is measured and how monetary policy is set add up to a picture of further rate cuts.
Central bank independence was an appropriate solution when inflation was a threat. In today’s low-inflation, low-growth and high-debt world, even central banks doubt their level of influence.
The market has been looking for inflation for most of the last decade. Low interest rates should increase consumption, borrowing and demand and result in higher prices. What killed inflation?
Our annual scorecard for Australian banks shows earnings were hit by remediation costs and slow credit growth, but they are in good health and look attractive versus other listed companies.
After 35 years in fiduciary and leadership roles, the President of MFS Investment Management is clear about the major problem in wealth management: we have not convinced investors to think long term.
Netflix once claimed its creation of 'binge watching' made sleep its major competitor. Now, the coming blow will be the loss of one platform that offers just about everything subscribers want.
In this fascinating travel diary, learn how Japan gives investors access to quality infrastructure assets trading at attractive multiples. The country is opening itself up to the world like never before.
Global indexes are undergoing a fundamental shift, forcing investors to revise their allocations. There has never been a change of this size, coinciding with China's rise as an economic power.
Markets are overlooking the obvious risks as traders pass the parcel to the next buyer. Even central bankers believe: “There is something vaguely troubling when the unthinkable becomes routine.”
The value of financial advice is increasingly questioned after the Royal Commission and changes to advice business models, but the case for financial advice for many people remains strong.
Even if you are in a wonderful relationship now, you should not assume you will never be in a blended family. We all need to plan accordingly by avoiding common mistakes in wealth planning.
In solving problems relating to conflicts and best interest duties, comprehensive financial advice has become so expensive that it will be increasingly confined to the wealthy. Is that what we want?
Thanks to the Royal Commission, everybody is aware of the problems with vertical integration and in-house conflicts for financial advisers. What should advisers and their clients look for?
SMSFs are useful retirement vehicles, but there are rules to follow which can easily be overlooked in haste. Run your eyes over the next five rules in this continuing list.
Statements by Brian Hartzer, CEO of Westpac, confirm that financial advice delivered by advisers to the mass market is not financially viable, and technology is the solution if most Australians are not to miss out.
Two of Australia's most experienced and successful chairs explain what makes a good board, what to watch for in bad ones, with advice for aspiring board members: understand first what motivates you.
In the month when index US equity funds exceeded active funds for the first time in history, a look at the company which started it in 1975, with insider views on mass market financial advice.
Marketplace or P2P lending has come a long way in Australia in the last five years. Most investors will be surprised by the type of borrowers and purposes of the loans, and how they are priced.
The companies that earn a place in an investment portfolio are like the players in a sporting team. They must perform strongly and complement each other, and not keep someone out who is better.
ETFs are doing to funds management what Spotify did to music. All investors and product providers need to adapt. Active managers can no longer justify index hugging at active fees.
Almost overnight, 'OK Boomer' has become a biting retort for younger people. The New York Times calls it "the end of friendly generational relations". OK Boomer entered Hansard in New Zealand when Chloe Swarbrick, a 25-year-old politician, silenced a heckler. How much have Boomers benefitted from favourable policies and markets?
Sludge. Well done ASIC for calling out the meaningless warnings, disclosures and disclaimers in financial presentations and offer documents. ASIC even says they are often harmful to client outcomes. Consider the dreaded disclaimers at the start of every talk. They interrupt well-crafted and strong introductions, and they are usually the butt of jokes by presenters, along the lines of "You've all read that, right? Good, now I'll get on with what really matters."
The superannuation industry is its own worst enemy. The disagreements spill into the public domain and reduce confidence and trust in the system. Research released this week by Qantas Super shows only 60% of Australians (and worse, only 52% of those in the critical savings years of 40 to 49 years old) trust their super fund to act in their best interests. Confidence in having enough money in retirement languishes at an average score of 5.4 out of 10.
Are you ready to pay your bank to accept your deposits, as is happening in Denmark and elsewhere? Already, some Australian banks will not accept large deposits from companies unless there is a business relationship. The ACCC Review on mortgage pricing may exacerbate the problem for depositors, as government pressure to reduce mortgage rates will be passed to the other side of the balance sheet.
Chief executives of banks usually give their pricing committees free rein to adjust fees, deposit and loan rates, as there are hundreds of prices regularly changing. But there is one rate which must always be cleared by the boss: the variable home loan rate. This demand goes back at least 30 years, because the managing directors know the Federal Treasurer of the day will hit the phone and the airwaves to complain if banks do not pass on a full cash rate cut.
When you consider all the things people worry about, the current ABC survey called 'Australia Talks' is uncovering our attitudes and producing surprising results. Based on 54,000 responses, ahead of health comes 'Saving enough money for retirement'.
Chris has many years of experience in building successful wealth management practices.
Noel Whittaker is one of the world's foremost authorities on personal finance.
Phil Ruthven is the founder and director of IBISWorld, Australia's best-known business information, forecasting and strategic services corporation
Paul John Keating is a former Australian politician who served as the 24th Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1991 to 1996 as leader of the Labor Party.
announces three new executive appointments.
Charity trading day - Bale out a Farmer 27 Nov 2019.
webinar 4 Dec: 2020 vision - what’s on the cards for investment markets next year?
Business has always faced changes, but the rapid extent of technical progress means many companies will cease to exist over the next 20 years, including some famous global brands.
We hear a lot about establishing an SMSF, but not much about exiting one. What are the options for SMSF members when the structure is no longer appropriate as a superannuation vehicle?
At a time when technology and society are forcing fundamental change on businesses, there is logic in adding 'shorting' to portfolio management. But it's not simply the opposite of going 'long'.
Nobel laureate Robert Merton wants us to focus on the income that will sustain us in retirement, even Jane Austen understood this. And he has a surprising proposal to help with longevity risk.
Is it paranoia, or are the goal posts always changing for Generation X? Read the musings of a disgruntled Gen-Xer, lifting the lid on our government's secret plan to thwart her kind at every turn.
We hear about what's wrong with our superannuation and retirement income systems and over time, exaggeration has crept in. We need to dispel myths and have a clear fact base as the foundation for discussion and policy.
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