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16 October 2025
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Racehorse investing and breeding, recession patterns, updating your investment philosophy, effects of pension reforms and the benefits of low turnover funds.
According to the ATO, SMSFs only hold 0.5% of their portfolios in global shares, despite the institutional average being over 20%. A closer look at the ATO data sources reveals that this statistic is most unreliable.
Less than half of today's workforce has experienced a proper recession, but in the absence of serious reform and vision, Australia may break its 25 years of economic growth.
Ben Graham’s brilliant investment insights have served investors well since the 1940s, including Buffett. But many companies are different today and it makes sense to update and move on.
Under the current pension reforms, changes to the asset test taper, which are designed to reduce the entitlement of part-pensioners, will also hit ‘downsizers’ and people moving into aged care hard.
In Australia, fund manager performance is most often assessed on pre-tax returns. But a low portfolio turnover can potentially provide better after-tax returns relative to a high turnover actively managed fund.
Before you jump in and invest in that racehorse with its potential Group 1 winnings and breeding credentials, here is a reality check on your dreams of fame and fortune from someone in the know.
Joe Hockey made strong statements on super reform this week: "Superannuation policy is incredibly complex ... So adding to the complexity by laying on new additional changes is daft."
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.
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.
Retirement can be daunting for Australians facing financial uncertainty. Understand your goals, longevity challenges, inflation impacts, market risks, and components of retirement income with these crucial charts.
Five mega trends point to risks of a more inflation prone and lower growth environment. This, along with rich market valuations, should constrain medium term superannuation returns to around 5% per annum.
With rising home prices and falling affordability, political leaders preach reform. But asset disclosures show many are heavily invested in property - raising doubts about whose interests housing policy really protects.