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17 August 2022
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The Government has made two changes to super rules that would once have been considered highly unlikely, but there are other amendments which would not compromise the overall aims of super.
One person's unjust retrospective policy change is another's overdue and necessary reform. Did people objecting about unfavourable policy retrospectivity complain when they benefitted from a retrospective change?
Few people understand how valuable the 'anti-detriment' benefit was, which means there is little focus on how the Budget will collect $350 million from you in only two years. Imagine if they announced new death duties.
The Medibank sale was carefully handled to ensure not much was left on the table, but that did not prevent a scramble for shares. Both retail investors and institutions were allocated a fraction of their bids.
Individuals have their credit history checked by financiers whenever they apply for finance. Why isn’t there a way for retail investors to check the credentials of financial institutions before investing their money?
An article in November 2013 suggesting death duties be considered as a public finance tool attracted some strong criticism, and in the context of the need to fund ever-increasing deficits, the author defends his views.
Now we're captivated by inflation and higher rates but only a year ago, investors were certain of the supremacy of US companies, the benign nature of inflation and the remoteness of tighter monetary policy.
Companies have been slow to update guidance and we have yet to see the impact of inflation expectations in earnings and outlooks. Companies need to insulate costs from inflation while enjoying an uptick in revenue.
Weaker share prices may have already discounted some bad news, but cost inflation is creating wide divergences inside and across sectors. Early results show some companies are strong enough to resist sector falls.
In 2002, the share price of the company that became Sydney Airport (SYD) hit 80 cents from the $2 IPO price. After 20 years of astute investment driving revenue increases, it sold to private hands for $8.75 in 2022.
There are significant differences in the sector weightings of an ethical fund versus an index, and while this has caused some short-term headwinds recently, the tailwinds are expected to blow over the long term.
Many new investors make common mistakes while learning about markets. Losses are inevitable. Newbies should read more and develop a long-term focus while avoiding big mistakes and not aiming to be brilliant.
Lenders use Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities to finance mortgages and RMBS are available to retail investors through fund structures. They come with many layers of protection beyond movements in house prices.