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Home / Author: Melanie Dunn

Melanie Dunn

8 hints for any SMSF in both accumulation and pension modes

The transfer balance cap has required some large SMSFs to transfer pension money back to accumulation, and the two pools must be treated carefully to maintain the full benefits from superannuation.

GPS Framework: A new way to think about SMSF retirement income

In retirement, it is the level of spending rather than investment returns which is the primary determinant of retirement outcomes, and there is a significant difference in spending patterns in later years.

Four common technical questions on SMSFs and super reform

Months after the major superannuation reforms of 1 July 2017, advisers and their clients are still asking important questions, especially about transfer balance caps and segregation.

Defined benefit pensions and the transfer balance cap

Defined benefit pensions once meant sitting back and enjoying the guaranteed income flow for life, but their treatment under the new pension rules is a potential minefield.

SMSFs and the pension cap: a case study

Four questions every SMSF member with large balances should be asking in the run up to 30 June 2017. There's enough here to warn not to leave understanding the rules until the last minute.

Low SMSF returns highlight value of retirement advice

Long periods of low returns are likely to compromise retirement goals that were set some years ago. This places greater importance on retirement advice and not assuming average returns and lifespans.

Latest Updates

Economy

Why we should follow Canada and cut migration

An explosion in low-skilled migration to Australia has depressed wages, killed productivity, and cut rental vacancy rates to near decades-lows. It’s time both sides of politics addressed the issue.

Investing

Simple maths says the AI investment boom ends badly

This AI cycle feels less like a revolution and more like a rerun. Just like fibre in 2000, shale in 2014, and cannabis in 2019, the technology or product is real but the capital cycle will be brutal. Investors beware.

Property

Australian house price speculators: What were you thinking?

Australian housing’s 50-year boom was driven by falling rates and rising borrowing power — not rent or yield. With those drivers exhausted, future returns must reconcile with economic fundamentals. Are we ready?

Shares

ASX reporting season: Room for optimism

Despite mixed ASX results, the market has shown surprising resilience. With rate cuts ahead and economic conditions improving, investors should look beyond short-term noise and position for a potential cyclical upswing.

Property

A Bunnings play without the hefty price tag

BWT Trust has moved to bring management in house. Meanwhile, many of the properties it leases to Bunnings have been repriced to materially higher rents. This has removed two of the key 'snags' holding back the stock.

Investment strategies

Replacing bank hybrids with something similar

With APRA phasing out bank hybrids from 2027, investors must reassess these complex instruments. A synthetic hybrid strategy may offer similar returns but with greater control and clearer understanding of risks.

Shares

Nvidia's CEO is selling. Here's why Aussie investors should care

The magnitude of founder Jensen Huang’s selldown may seem small, but the signal is hard to ignore. When the person with the clearest insight into the company’s future starts cashing out, it’s worth asking why.

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