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David Bell

Why academics like lifetime annuities

Life annuities should be beneficial to rational decision-making individuals in retirement, yet in Australia the number of life annuities purchased remains small, albeit with some nascent signs of growth.

Not all lifecycle funds are created equal

There are important features which distinguish the different lifecycle offerings and they can have a significant impact on member outcomes. Rating agencies will need to adapt their processes versus normal balanced funds.

Exciting times in superannuation research

The broad range of research areas and techniques used instill confidence that the academic researcher community will contribute significantly to improving superannuation choices and retirement outcomes in future.

Tax-effective charitable bequests

With some extra thought in estate planning, a bequest to a charity could be made in a more tax-effective way, creating the potential for larger bequests.

Paternalism is not a dirty word

While it would be preferable if disengaged investors became more aware of their superannuation, it is an unrealistic expectation. A degree of paternalism is necessary in the design of defaults.

Simple investment risk management – this is the risk issue we need to talk about

Aspiring to best practices in risk management is not simply a matter of calculating volatility or risk reporting. It is critical to protecting financial outcomes.

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Interviews

AFIC on the speculative ASX boom, opportunities, and LIC discounts

In an interview with Firstlinks, CEO Mark Freeman discusses how speculative ASX stocks have crushed blue chips this year, companies he likes now, and why he’s confident AFIC’s NTA discount will close.

Investment strategies

Solving the Australian equities conundrum

The ASX's performance this year has again highlighted a persistent riddle facing investors – how to approach an index reliant on a few sectors and handful of stocks. Here are some ideas on how to build a durable portfolio.

Retirement

Regulators warn super funds to lift retirement focus

Despite three years under the retirement income covenant, regulators warn a growing gap between leading and lagging super funds, driven by poor member insights and patchy outcomes measurement.

Shares

Australian equities: a tale of two markets

The ASX seems a market split in two: between the haves and have nots; or those with growth and momentum and those without. In this environment, opportunity favours those willing to look beyond the obvious.

Investment strategies

Dotcom on steroids Part II

OpenAI’s business model isn't sustainable in the long run. If markets catch on, the company could face higher borrowing costs, or worse, and that would have major spillover effects.

Investment strategies

AI’s debt binge draws European telco parallels

‘Hyperscalers’ including Google, Meta and Microsoft are fuelling an unprecedented surge in equity and debt issuance to bankroll massive AI-driven capital expenditure. History shows this isn't without risk.

Investment strategies

Leveraged single stock ETFs don't work as advertised

Leveraged ETFs seek to deliver some multiple of an underlying index or reference asset’s return over a day. Yet, they aren’t even delivering the target return on an average day as they’re meant to do.

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