9 November 2025

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The growing debt burden of retiring Australians Four best-ever charts for every adviser and investor LICs vs ETFs – which perform best?Our experts on Jim Chalmers' super tax backdown Preparing for aged care

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Edition 212

28 July 2017

The Holy Grail of investing is high returns with low risk. When a fund or index delivers a return of say 10% and volatility (used as a measure of risk) of 10%, analysts say it has a 'Sharpe Ratio' of 1.0 (ie return/risk). This 'risk-adjusted return' rarely averages over 1.0, and 0.5 is considered a good result. Yet according to Bloomberg, in the 100 months to June 2017, the S&P500 index delivered a Sharpe Ratio of 1.4. A stellar result.

Tension as diversified portfolios have lost their anchor

Rob Prugue
27 July 2017
3

With the strongest defensive assets earning close to zero and negative real returns, investors are looking at other ways to shock-proof their portfolios, but it invariably means taking on more risk.

Decide if 'fake crises' are worth the worry

Don Stammer
27 July 2017
1

Instead of automatically reacting to fake crises, a better approach is to weigh up the pros and cons first. If the news proves to be correct, take action based on your risk tolerance.

How to improve retirement outcomes for women

Bob Deutsch
27 July 2017
3

Adequate retirement incomes rely on accumulating superannuation balances throughout a working life, and many factors are detrimental to women keeping pace with men. Urgent reform is needed.

Disruption supports small company growth

Andrew Mitchell
27 July 2017
1

New technologies and markets are driving opportunities for small to medium cap companies, as well as the global tech giants. Many Australian companies have jumped on the wave.

5 factors for SMSFs investing in residential property

Adam Smith, John Chauvel
27 July 2017
5

Should SMSFs invest in residential property, should they borrow to do it and what is the impact on housing affordability and market stability?

Easier transfer of death benefit pensions

Mark Ellem
27 July 2017

Transferring a death benefit pension can be complicated but new legislation from 1 July 2017 simplifies the process.

Are banks misjudging retirees?

Reader
26 July 2017
14

A retired reader wrote to us about his poor treatment by several banks, seemingly because he is retired. Are banks missing out on opportunities to service retirees?

Australian LICs versus Berkshire Hathaway

Peter Thornhill
26 July 2017
1
1

As part of the continuing discussion about dividends, Peter Thornhill sent in a chart that compares the long term performance of three Australian LICs with Warren Buffett's legendary Berkshire Hathaway.

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The growing debt burden of retiring Australians

More Australians are retiring with larger mortgages and less super. This paper explores how unlocking housing wealth can help ease the nation’s growing retirement cashflow crunch.

Harry Chemay
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Four best-ever charts for every adviser and investor

In any year since 1875, if you'd invested in the ASX, turned away and come back eight years later, your average return would be 120% with no negative periods. It's just one of the must-have stats that all investors should know.

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LICs vs ETFs – which perform best?

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Our experts on Jim Chalmers' super tax backdown

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James Gruber
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Preparing for aged care

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Family trusts: Are they still worth it?

Family trusts remain a core structure for wealth management, but rising ATO scrutiny and complex compliance raise questions about their ongoing value. Are the benefits still worth the administrative burden?

Peter Bardos
22 October 2025

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