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Wednesday, 8 July 2020
Recently trending How much bigger can the virus bubble get?Share trading is the new addictionWhat is happening with SMSFs? Part 1Welcome to Firstlinks Edition 362New ways for listed funds to fix their price discounts
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The tax cost of a ‘portfolio makeover’ from moving equities to a more efficient structure may now be minor compared with the benefits. The market fall is not just an opportunity to find bargains.
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?
While franking credits attached to Australian equity dividends can be a meaningful source of extra returns, a deliberate tilt towards franking can also introduce significant unwanted risks into the portfolio.
Many large investors pay higher brokerage fees, hoping to gain favour with brokers to gain access to IPOs. Are rare IPO gains worth the loss of quality execution at the best price every day?
Fund managers are commonly using algorithms to derive and implement their investment strategies, and investors should be looking behind and beyond the computer code to understand the inputs.
Active managers trade more often and in larger amounts than passive managers do. Costs incurred from trading, in aggregate, can be substantial and ought to be considered in the decision to use active strategies.
Markets can swing quickly from optimism to pessimism, and while there are more positives now than in the bleak early days in March, the market is ignoring many negatives. Risk is not rewarded at these levels.
Investors tend to overstate the impact on investments when something significant happens and they assume the future will be different. COVID-19 has been dramatic, but is it really that unusual?
APRA's heatmap has profound implications as it shows which super funds are underperforming in a period. But when good markets are compared with poor markets, one in five of funds changes its assessment.
Many people were financially unprepared for a pandemic, but it is women who are suffering most because they earn less, have interrupted careers and have less risk-taking capacity.
The latest SMSF data shows retirees favour listed shares and cash to maintain liquidity. SMSFs continue to grow, and the new super rules led to changes in contributions, payments and lump sums.
A new survey of over 1,000 people near or in retirement found three in four are not confident how long their money will last. Only 18% felt their money was safe during a strong economic downturn.
Awareness of common misunderstandings in relation to the payment of death benefit pensions can assist in estate planning matters. Given the large amounts involved, seeking professional advice helps.