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Thursday, 20 January 2022
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The development of user-focused tools enabling SMSF members to direct their investments, receive information, make decisions and intuitively reach their own goals is moving ahead quickly.
Insurance bonds may be a good fit for high income earners looking for a long-term investment option. Although a life insurance product, there are early signs of an SMSF-like structure to increase the appeal and availability.
There are many places in the SMSF value chain where a company can operate. The best businesses choose a place where they can excel and try to become the best.
It's not just super contribution limits that have changed since 1 July. The ability to provide insurance policies through SMSFs has been redefined and the ATO can now utilitse new administrative penalty powers.
The recent budget has highlighted the importance of superannuation in supporting the age pension system. Why then, would the Government want to remove many of the incentives for building a healthy super balance?
Constant changes to an already complex super system mean trustees should be continually learning. Rather than focusing on compliance and rules, trustees need new tools to help make good investment decisions.
There are thousands of different indexes, and they are not all diversified and broadly-based. Watch for concentration risk in sectors and companies, and know the underlying assets in case liquidity is needed.
It is easy to feel like an investing genius over the last 10 years, with most asset classes making wonderful gains. But if there's a setback, companies like Reece, ARB, Cochlear, REA Group and CSL will recover best.
In the 11th year of a bull market, near the end of the cycle, some type of correction is likely. Underneath is solid, healthy and underpinned by strong earnings growth, but there's less room for mistakes.
In 2021, the gold price failed to sustain its strong rise since 2018, although it recovered after early losses. But where does gold sit in a world of inflation, rising rates and a competitor like Bitcoin?
In a sentence or two, global experts across many fields are asked to summarise the biggest surprise of 2021, and enduring challenges into 2022. It's a short and sweet view of the changes we are all facing.
In 2021, sharemarket gains supported record levels of capital raisings and IPOs in Australia. The range of deals listed here shows the maturity of the local market in providing equity capital.
Governments and investors have been complacent about the build up of debt, but at some level, a ceiling exists. Are we near yet? Trouble is brewing, especially in the eurozone and emerging countries.