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David Bell

Age pension reform: income taper change is unlikely

Tapering is the rate at which pensions reduce as other sources of income increase. A change is unlikely to make it onto Joe Hockey's list of pensions amendments in the upcoming budget.

Squiggly lines and lessons in market timing

Obviously it’s best to sell high and buy low, but in the irrational world of stock markets, the past may offer little guide to the future. The most we can realistically expect is to learn how to tilt the odds in our favour.

Pension indexation is a $300 billion question

With the budget in deficit, debate about the sustainability of welfare and spending gathers pace. Looking at pension indexation alone, the two methods used differ by $300 billion in revenue between now and 2050.

Bruce Springsteen and Professor Robert Engle

Professor Engle received the 2003 Nobel Prize for his work on volatility, but he's moved on to systemic risk, and his calculations are far from reassuring. He also has a free website full of useful data.

Age pension reform and its consequences for financial plans

It's highly likely that the age pension will experience future reforms. A useful financial plan should model a reduction in pensions, rather than making an assumption that it'll be there when the money runs out.

The effect of real wage changes on retirement incomes

The impact of real wage growth on your future retirement income depends a lot on your pre-retirement position. Will you be kept in the manner to which you have become accustomed or will some adjustments need to be made?

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Investment strategies

The thin line between investing and gambling

Prediction markets are blurring the line between investing and speculation and savvy investors can profit from this trend by heeding the advice of famed investor, Benjamin Graham.

Strategy

The refinery problem: A different kind of energy crisis in 2026

The Strait of Hormuz closure due to US-Iran conflict severely disrupted global energy supply chains. While various emergency measures mitigated the crude impact, the refined product market faces unprecedented stress.

Gold

Are we running out of gold?

Geopolitical instability and challenges with new gold discoveries mean we may be approaching a structural shortage of mineable gold, but what does this mean for gold's overall long-term availability?

Investment strategies

ETF investors adding to portfolios during recent volatility

In the face of recent market volatility investors continue to add to their ETF portfolios with these ETFs getting notable inflows, indicating that long-term fundamentals remain solid.

Strategy

Policy setting in democracies

Democracies aren’t a given, and policymakers need to be mindful not to alienate communities and instead be more aligned with mainstream ideas and attitudes. 

Investment strategies

Take my money and lie to me… again

As private funds increasingly show signs of cracking and buckling under a complete lack of liquidity, the salespeople do their best to keep the cash pouring in from new investors. 

Economy

Australia was once a world leader in innovation, now the system is ‘broken’

Ambitious Australia joins a long line of reports examining research and development, finding Australia has fallen behind its peers on many fronts. It urges bold reform to address declining productivity and research spending.

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