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20 December 2025
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What is an appropriate retirement age for the times? Some sage advice from ASIC to SMSFs. Lifecycle funds, product innovation within managed funds, and realistic sharemarket expectations.
In 1909, there were 15 workers for every retiree, but by 2025 it will be down to only 3.5 workers. But we're still defining 'retiree' as over 65. Using dynamic retirement age principles gives a brighter perspective on old age dependency.
The Stronger Super reforms have significantly raised the profile of lifecycle funds by legitimising their use as a single investment strategy for MySuper products. But are lifecycle funds any better than normal balanced funds?
Sit through a dozen fund manager presentations and they all start to sound the same. There's been little significant innovation in the managed funds industry in the last 15 years. Why is this and what are the consequences?
An investment strategy and its appropriate ‘strategic asset allocation’ should balance what you are hoping to achieve against the risk of adverse outcomes along the way. It calls for honesty, realism and the right risk tolerance.
In Cuffelinks on 2 April 2013, we posted an article on bank liquidity. Alun Stevens, Principal at Rice Warner Actuaries, took issue with some of the conclusions, and a lively debate followed. Warning: very long and technical.
I’ve long seen Buffett as a flawed genius: a great investor though a man with shortcomings. With his final letter to Berkshire shareholders, I reflect on how my views of Buffett have changed and the legacy he leaves.
With rates on hold and housing demand strong, lenders are pushing boundaries. As risky products return, borrowers should be cautious and not let clever marketing cloud their judgment.
Retirement isn’t a clean financial arc. Income shocks, health costs and family pressures hit at random, exposing the limits of age-based planning and the myth of a predictable “retirement journey".
The superannuation system has succeeded brilliantly at what it was designed to do: accumulate wealth during working lives. The next challenge is meeting members’ diverse needs in retirement.
I am a professional real estate investor who hears a lot of opinions rather than facts from so-called experts on the topic of property. Here are the largest myths when it comes to Australia’s biggest asset class.
What should you do if you think this market is grossly overvalued? While it’s impossible to predict the future, it is possible to prepare, and here are three tips on how to best construct your portfolio for what’s ahead.