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Home / Author: Robin Bowerman

Robin Bowerman

Interactive: where will your goals take you?

This excellent Interactive Index Chart shows market performance of various asset classes since 1970, and allows readers to compare the growth of $10,000 invested in these asset classes over historical periods.

Some trustees should self-manage out of SMSFs

Although over one million Australians are trustees of SMSFs, ASIC reports that many do not have the expertise or time to take responsibility to manage their own superannuation.

When no decision is the right one for super

Superannuation funds strive for increased engagement from their members, but is there merit in the decision not to choose? Evidence shows default options perform well compared with the 'choose your own' path.

The value of Adviser's Alpha explained

The main benefit a financial adviser can give clients is not in stock picking or selecting an outperforming manager, but acting as a wealth coach and helping to control emotions.

You get what you don’t pay for

While there is a role for both active and passive investments in portfolios, the impact of relatively small reductions in management fees can compound to large amounts over a lifetime of saving.

Preparing for the ups-and-downs of 2017

When markets deliver lower returns, investors need to save more, learn about investments and stay the course to achieve their retirement goals. Diversification is an effective way to weather uncertain times.

Latest Updates

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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