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19 August 2026
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We like a good debate, and when two opposing views argued about the role of government bonds in a diversified portfolio, a veteran of 30 years in fixed interest stepped in as referee.
Guest Editor, Warren Bird, worked with Chris Cuffe at Colonial First State, and he brings clarity to the complex world of fixed interest, bonds and investing. Here are his favourite articles from the past six years.
Claims that zero tax rates on superannuation pension funds are a rort are misinformed because they ignore the taxes paid to put money into super, and the social contract that super was designed for.
In the week that marks 30 years since Chris Cuffe joined what became Colonial First State, a former colleague reflects on what makes a business successful, and what may have been lost from those early days.
The current system is fundamentally fair as domestic shareholders pay tax on fully franked dividends at their own tax rate. This is what imputation should achieve and why we need franking credits refunded.
The reality of investing in a bond is that regardless of whether we have experienced a massive bull market, the most a bond is worth at maturity is the face value.
Treasury’s latest CGT reform draft delivers a win for testamentary trusts and deceased estates, exempting estate-derived gains from the 30% floor. However, questions on death and divorce rollovers remain unresolved.
Average super balances are one of the most misleading benchmarks. They ignore your goals, spending and future needs, creating a false sense of security. Here is how I calculate exactly where I need to be at every decade.
Most people spend decades planning how to retire. Far fewer plan for what comes next. The biggest retirement challenge isn't always financial, and it often catches even the most prepared retirees completely off guard.
Most Australian portfolios are concentrated in large caps, with relatively little exposure to smaller companies. But what if the biggest risk isn't the economy, interest rates or valuations? For many, the risk is hidden in plain sight.
Many investors remain concentrated in shares, cash and property. Despite their popularity among institutional investors, real assets remain underrepresented in many SMSF portfolios. Could they be the missing piece?
Investors spend decades learning how to stay invested, yet few have a plan for getting out. When a financial goal has a hard deadline, a worked example shows why a fixed derisking schedule should outrank buy-and-hold discipline.
Why have active managers struggled as passive investing has surged? Research suggests that flows into index funds and ETFs are creating structural headwinds, penalising the stock-picking strategies that once generated alpha.