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26 October 2026
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Internal emails from the regulator released under an FOI request reveal warnings about advice conflict when selling fees are paid on LICs. Investors need to understand the consequences of the debate.
The Treasurer has announced a public consultation into whether advisers can accept selling fees on LITs and LICs to address potential conflicts and compliance with best interests duties.
The '4% withdrawal rate' is a commonly-used safe amount to take from retirement savings and not run out of money. But this may lead to frugality when retirees could enjoy a better lifestyle.
Check your fund on the heatmap. Many super trustees must decide whether to stick with their strategies or accept that APRA will take a tough approach to weeding out underperformers with high fees.
The APRA MySuper heatmap uses a consistent methodology, and some funds come out badly. How will members and trustees react, and should APRA have sorted out the problems privately?
Billions of dollars of personal savings are flowing into 'fixed interest' funds, but do investors understand the risks? These funds have a place but they are not a short-term haven for worried retirees.
A decades-old estate planning tool has survived one tax crackdown only to be caught by another. The surprise isn't who the reform is targeting, but who could end up paying the price for drafting choices made years ago.
The 4% rule has survived decades of scrutiny, but Australia's retirement system changes the equation in ways most overlook. Before accepting or rejecting this rule of thumb, it pays to understand what really drives retirement outcomes.
A coal-heavy miner with governance concerns isn't the obvious choice for investors. Yet, Glencore's ASX listing may offer something BHP and Rio can't. The challenge is working out whether the opportunity outweighs the risks.
Investors are often told not to let tax policy drive their investment decisions. Yet, under the new CGT rules, portfolio construction, volatility and even how assets are owned may have an outsized impact on their final outcome.
What do frozen bank accounts, mortgage traps and pension penalties have in common? They're all symptoms of a system that makes life much harder. Yet the obvious solutions seem to have escaped the attention of Canberra.
Some of the important effects of rising public debt never make the headlines. Research shows the immediate effects may already be unfolding, influencing corporate behaviour in ways that many investors would never suspect.
Is fundamental investing losing its grip on markets? Investors continue to search for valuation-based explanations for every price move, but the dominant force behind short-term returns may be something else altogether.