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6 October 2025
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Grattan's Super Savings white paper, the case for passive investing, what to look for in the biotech and pharma sector, digital disruption to financial advice and some SMSF tips from the experts.
The Grattan Institute’s recent paper on reducing costs associated with superannuation is a reflective read for all executives and trustees of super funds in Australia, but is it the time right for these changes?
The empirical evidence in the active v passive investing debate favours index in most asset classes, but there's a role for mixing the techniques if good managers can be identified - although that's not easy.
Biotech and pharma are seductive and exciting sectors to invest in. When products are developed and successfully adopted, it can be very profitable, but most projects do not succeed, and it’s good to know what you’re doing.
The financial advice industry is facing significant challenges that will cause revolutionary changes to the way advice is delivered and paid for. Some segments of the advice industry will be hit more than others.
A warning not to take short cuts when settling a death benefit from a deceased SMSF member. Even if the payment is being transferred within the same fund, you still need to follow the law.
A compilation of answers to readers’ questions covering powers of attorney, enduring guardianship, succession planning and limited recourse borrowing arrangements (LRBAs) within an SMSF.
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.
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.
LICs are continuing to struggle with large discounts and frustrated investors are wondering whether it’s worth holding onto them. This explains why the next 6-12 months will be make or break for many LICs.
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?
Younger Australians think they’ll need $100k a year in retirement - nearly double what current retirees spend. Expectations are rising fast, but are they realistic or just another case of lifestyle inflation?
This week, I got the news that my mother has dementia. It came shortly after my father received the same diagnosis. This is a meditation on getting old and my regrets in not getting my parents’ affairs in order sooner.