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15 October 2025
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Paul Keating on company tax and imputation, a critique of APRA's Standard Risk Measure, do we really need super?, self managed super's best kept secret, insurance essentials and calculating performance.
The super industry should have a jaundiced view of reductions in the existing company tax rate but, more than that, remain vigilant in protecting ‘dividend imputation’. And superannuation is about de-risking the future, so people should be encouraged to salary sacrifice in later life.
Super fund Product Disclosure Statements now include a measure of risk called the ‘Standard Risk Measure’, or SRM, but it has some important shortcomings, especially ignoring the size of losses.
We will have a significant retirement funding problem for at least the next 30 years. We need super to reduce the future tax burden on those employed who will be asked to support an ageing population.
If ‘SMSF’ were a corporate brand, its marketing department would be the most successful in superannuation history. The major retail funds always had a strong response to SMSFs in their kit bag, but they didn’t explain it to enough customers.
Protecting your wealth and standard of living is just as important as building it in the first place. You are gambling with your financial future if you do not have adequate insurance.
The arithmetic mean of the annual returns of the ASX/S&P200 since 1980 is 13.9% per annum, while the geometric mean is 11.6% per annum. This is an annual 2.3% gap. Which returns have you been watching?
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.