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1 August 2025
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Micro investing at Raiz, poor retail FX rates, spouse super, disability insurance, longevity and sequencing risk, living to 1,000, SMSF spruiking.
On 21 June 2018, Raiz Invest (formerly Acorns) listed on the ASX, valuing the company at $119 million. How does this 'micro investing' platform stack up as a place to invest or buy shares in the company itself?
Australian retail customers typically still pay a hefty fee on FX transactions at the airport or through the banks. Fintech solutions are more competitive, and global banks are also offering multi-currency accounts.
A couple can benefit if the person running against the $1.6 million cap on super pension balances contributes to the spouse’s super. It’s worth checking the eligibility requirements and tax offsets.
Disability insurance can be either inside or outside of superannuation. There are premium, payout amount and tax consequences of those decisions that should be analysed to achieve the best cover.
Low interest rates have created problems for retirees, leading to the threat of a reduced lifestyle quality, running out of cash or accepting the age pension. Taking high risks at this point may make things worse.
Over the next few decades, average life expectancies as well as healthy outlier human lifespans could rise substantially due to medical engineering and gene modification. Aging is now better understood than ever before.
SMSFs are being targeted by property marketers, but is a single, illiquid investment a good super strategy, with its associated leverage? ASIC is worried SMSF trustees are not seeing the full picture, so we went looking.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers aims to tackle tax reform but faces challenges. Previous reviews struggled due to political sensitivities, highlighting the need for comprehensive and politically feasible change.
With Div. 296 looming, is there a smarter way to tax superannuation? This proposes a fairer, income-linked alternative that respects compounding, ensures predictability, and avoids taxing unrealised capital gains.
The Labor government is talking up tax reform to lift Australia’s ailing economic growth. Before any changes are made, it’s important to know who pays tax, who owns assets, and how much people have in their super for retirement.
There are many ways to invest in stocks, but some strategies are more effective than others. Here are nine tried and tested investment approaches - choosing one of these can improve your chances of reaching your financial goals.
In selling the super tax, Labor has repeated Treasury claims of there being $50 billion in super tax concessions annually, mostly flowing to high-income earners. This figure is vastly overstated.
Markets have weathered geopolitical turmoil, hitting near record highs. Investors face tough decisions on valuations, asset concentration, and strategic portfolio rebalancing for risk control and future returns.