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6 October 2025
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A harder look at SMSFs, Volkswagen bond market lessons, household borrowing overshadows business, income in retirement, your ethics may not be mine, and why is everyone complaining about super?
The lending patterns of households and businesses, when compared against GDP and disposable income, can provide useful insights into where the economy is headed.
When your accountant, financial adviser or golfing partner recommend an SMSF, check this list to consider all that's involved, even if you think you have the time to manage it.
When a company fraud is uncovered there are many losers, and companies are not run to benefit bondholders. The main protection against such unforeseeable risks is to maintain a well-diversified portfolio.
To give superannuation the best chance of providing the desired retirement income, it makes sense to manage for the relevant risks over time and protect investments from inflation.
It's a dilemma for fund managers to make divestment decisions on behalf of investors based on philosophical grounds. Does it reflect the investors' beliefs and will it adversely impact returns?
Australia's superannuation industry is experiencing an identity crisis of sorts as the government tries to legislate a 'purpose for super', while performance is often sacrificed in the quest to minimise fees.
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.