It's Scams Awareness Week, when the ACCC warns the public about emerging trends and techniques used by scammers. In 2017, Australian government agencies received over 200,000 scam reports with losses exceeding $340 million. The ACCC handled 161,000 scam reports for over $90 million, with investment scams exceeding dating and romance, as shown below.
Source: ACCC Report, Targetting scams, issued May 2018.
Common tricks involve obtaining personal and bank details using copies of websites and account log-in pages. They even port mobile phone numbers to get around two-step authentication. Scammers infiltrate IT systems, watch email communications and imitate companies.
The ACCC's Little Black Book of Scams is its most popular publication, and it's free in any quantity including mailing in Australia. Give a copy to family members who may be targetted.
Royal Commission investment fallout
As bank share prices continue to fall in the wake of the Royal Commission, there may be a brighter side for investors. The reduction in risk appetite and increased regulatory impost on banks might make their debt and hybrid securities safer. Listed hybrids and subordinated debt are readily available on the ASX, and they are protected by larger capital buffers than in the past. There are other opportunities. As Justin McCarthy writes, the slower loan turnaround time and tighter compliance is opening the door for non-bank lenders, many of which are also listed companies. The current SME investigations by the Royal Commission show how difficult it is to obtain finance without home equity support, and the big banks are losing market share.
Roger Montgomery looks at disruptors in other industries, but warns that many innovations are better for consumers than the companies offering the new services. In the UK, Tesco has accepted defeat to Amazon by closing Tesco Direct, and Marks & Sparks has closed 100 stores.
SMSF changes and developments
We have two articles for SMSFs: Matthew Collins describes in more detail a way to avoid Labor's franking policy change, while Stephen Lawrence explains the attraction of putting Business Real Property in an SMSF and why it works so well for many business people.
With other investing ideas, Paul Gambale shows how the new Active ETFs compare with managed funds, Anthony Murphy gives a quick checklist for selecting good fund managers and Lydia Carstensen provides a short introduction to using bare trusts. On investor behaviour, Alastair MacLoed explains how people chose between different options in a retirement context.
This week's White Paper from BetaShares Capital is their latest ETF Report which shows 232 listed products worth about $38 billion, with the strongest inflows into international equities.
Graham Hand, Managing Editor
Edition 255 | 25 May 2018 | Editorial | Newsletter