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Alex Denham

The impact of our marriage breakdown on our SMSF

Even if a marriage ends amicably, there are complications when partners share an SMSF. You can't simply 'split' the assets on a handshake, and who takes the capital gains and what's the impact on an estate?

How an SMSF member can access cash under COVID-19 rules

The wide range of measures introduced due to COVID-19 include relaxation of some superannuation rules, giving some people access to cash. But watch other rules as it's not a super open-house. 

It’s time for SMSF accountants and advisers to be friends

In the world of SMSFs, an aligned accountant and financial adviser can make a formidable, synergistic team. Specialists who can’t be friends can be the opposite, when the best interests of the client are paramount.

‘Best interests’ requires walking in their shoes

Financial adviser education, training and legislating ethical standards will help improve 'best interests' practices, but what about adviser experience? This important quality is near impossible to regulate.

Lessons from my Dad, in and out of aged care

No amount of experience as an adviser specialising in aged care prepared Alex for the actual events her father faced inside an aged care facility. It might be about care, but it's a profit-making business.

Is it time to review your super pension?

If the sum of a couple’s pension balances is over $1.6 million and a spouse dies, what can the survivor do to keep the assets in the superannuation environment?

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SMSF strategies

Meg on SMSFs: What do we think about reversionary pensions these days?

Reversionary pensions have long been a staple of SMSF estate planning, but are they still the best option? Meg Heffron revisits a once-clear favourite and asks whether changing super rules have shifted the balance.

The ageing ‘crisis’ has not and will not happen

Rising age dependency is frequently treated as a warning sign for economies. But when actual workforce participation is examined, a strikingly different picture emerges about ageing, productivity and economic sustainability.

Retirement

How does the 4% rule stack up?

The 4% rule has long been retirement's gold standard. But after a difficult period for investors, fresh analysis suggests a more conservative approach may significantly improve the chances of making savings last.

Shares

Four charts that expose market concentration risk

Investors have recently been rewarded for backing market leaders, but history suggests this eventually comes at a cost. Now may be the time to review whether your portfolio is carrying unintended risks beneath the surface.

Investment strategies

The case for gearing beyond property

Most Australians gear into property but ignore shares. That may be a mistake. Used carefully, geared equity strategies can enhance long-term returns, reduce cash tied up in growth assets and support retirement income goals.

Economy

Australia's $1 trillion debt pile

The headlines exclaiming that Australian government debt has hit A$1 trillion and US government debt has hit $40 trillion has turned heads, but how serious are they really? Will Australia's mix of debt create challenges?

Economy

Has 100 years of growth made us any happier?

For decades, GDP has been the benchmark for economic success, but has it made us materially happier? If happiness does not rise in lockstep with prosperity, are we overlooking what constitutes a successful society?

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