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6 October 2025
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RC lies and damned lies, Blue Sky shorting, end of the bull run, blockchain founder, tax-free pensions, Smith v Jones, merit of two SMSFs, Third Link.
One of the founding fathers of blockchain technology and an expert in cryptography and distributed computing first mentioned in 1991 a blockchain that utilised digital time-stamps for ordering transactions.
Everyone’s calling for the end of the long bull-run in equities. But we don’t know if the end is a few months or a few years away, and technological change is so vast that historical lessons need to be tempered.
The use of separate SMSFs for accumulation and pensions stages to minimise tax obligations may attract the ire of the ATO, but there may be other, more legitimate, reasons for using this strategy.
Denying imputation credit tax refunds to the SMSF as taxpayer will reduce its income, causing pension funds to deplete faster, and its members to turn to the age pension quicker. This isn’t an outcome the Government desires.
A reader asks whether people can stay off the age pension by reducing the amount of money they live on in retirement but not drawing on their capital.
The bank bill/OIS swap rate may seen arcane but if it stays at current elevated levels, it may increase rates for borrowers in the same way as an increase in cash rates by the Reserve Bank.
An innovative idea to donate to charities the fees paid by investors in a fund has become an annual flow of about $2 million to needy causes as the 10th anniversary is reached.
The rapid price fall of Blue Sky following a poor report from a foreign seller makes it look as if short selling is easy, but there are many risks and details to consider along the way.
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.