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Home / Author: Raewyn Williams

Raewyn Williams

Is currency exposure an unwanted risk or source of returns?

  As more Australians invest overseas, currency exposure represents a new risk. 50% hedged, 50% unhedged was once a popular ‘least regret’ approach, but there's a move to currency as a return source.

Five principles from the lost decade of value investing

Value investing is a long-cycle play, but a decade (and counting) of waiting for mean reversion has tested the faith of even long-horizon investors. Some basic principles are worth assessing.

Bear markets are good for portfolio makeovers, not only bargains

The tax cost of a ‘portfolio makeover’ from moving equities to a more efficient structure may now be minor compared with the benefits. The market fall is not just an opportunity to find bargains.

Five innovation traps for super funds to avoid

Regulators are insisting that large super funds become more innovative to assist their clients, but what are the traps within businesses that inhibit creativity and fresh solutions?

Careful what you wish for chasing franking

While franking credits attached to Australian equity dividends can be a meaningful source of extra returns, a deliberate tilt towards franking can also introduce significant unwanted risks into the portfolio.

Is good IPO access worth the costs involved?

Many large investors pay higher brokerage fees, hoping to gain favour with brokers to gain access to IPOs. Are rare IPO gains worth the loss of quality execution at the best price every day?

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Planning

Testamentary trusts survived the trust tax. The drafting battle has just begun.

The fight over testamentary trusts looked settled. Then the draft legislation arrived. Hidden in a technical detail is a question that could force many families to rethink wills they thought were already future-proof.

Investment strategies

The new capital gains tax trap for your portfolio

Investors have long accepted one portfolio rule without much question. A major tax shift could change that calculation entirely, forcing difficult trade-offs between risk, discipline and an overlooked cost lurking beneath.

Economy

Population growth masks Australia’s productivity problem

For years, investors have benefited from a seemingly reliable growth story. But recent national accounts raise uncomfortable questions about what has really been driving Australia’s economy and whether that can continue unchecked.

Investment strategies

Why tomorrow’s winners may not be today’s index leaders

The stocks that built retirement balances over the past decade now dominate many portfolios. The new challenge is whether these companies can continue meeting the increasingly high expectations embedded in today's share prices.

Investing

What earnings surprises reveal about future returns

Sometimes the most important information in an earnings result isn't the number itself. It's the possibility that the market's assumptions have been fundamentally wrong and future earnings may look very different.

SMSF strategies

Individual SMSF Trusteeship directly liable for ATO fines

A rarely discussed detail buried in SMSF structures could dramatically change who wears the cost when something goes wrong. With penalties rising, a decision many dismissed as administrative may deserve a second look.

Investment strategies

The currency bet you didn’t know you made

Buying global shares means making two bets: on the companies and on the Australian dollar. Most investors consciously choose only the first. Last financial year, the second bet cost 8.5% in returns for many investors.

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