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23 September 2026
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SMSFs avoid franking loss, 3 key bank risks, super changes, investing like sport, Asia drives real assets, BBB bond worries, ETF thematic investing.
If Labor legislates to withdraw franking credit refunds, retirees have an alternative for their pension superannuation to retain the refund. It shows the proposal does not have 'horizontal equity' between structures.
Australia's major banks face many challenges but they are strong and remarkably adaptive and resilient. They have also finally accepted they are too big to behave badly.
If you have been maintaining a small inactive superannuation fund purely for insurance purposes, you need to act quickly to avoid losing cover which might be difficult to replace.
Structuring an investment team around geography or sectors leads to manager bias in poor sectors. Better to focus on a few areas of fascination where product and business expertise can develop.
Real assets such as airports will benefit significantly from a massive growth in Asian tourism and a growing middle class, and are less subject to the vagaries of the business cycle.
Bond markets are far larger than stockmarkets, and the BBB segments in the largest of all in the corporate market. Many analysts have pointed to potential weaknesses but it pays to look a bit deeper.
Thematic trend investors relies more on recognising how the world is changing over the long term, and finding sectors that will benefit, rather than the more cyclical approach of picking short-term winners.
The 'direct investment options' may have structural advantages for franking credit refunds, but that does not mean SMSFs do not have their own specific advantages. What's best for the superannuant?
Conventional wisdom encourages retirees to preserve superannuation. But if those likely to qualify for the Age Pension later in life spend a little more today, it may deliver higher lifetime income and a more stable retirement.
Treasury’s latest CGT reform draft delivers a win for testamentary trusts and deceased estates, exempting estate-derived gains from the 30% floor. However, questions on death and divorce rollovers remain unresolved.
Reversionary pensions have long been a staple of SMSF estate planning, but are they still the best option? Meg Heffron revisits a once-clear favourite and asks whether changing super rules have shifted the balance.
For generations, Australian investors have backed banks, miners and dividends. But has that loyalty come at a cost? A look at the numbers raises an uncomfortable question about where future returns will come from.
The 4% rule has long been retirement's gold standard. But after a difficult period for investors, fresh analysis suggests a more conservative approach may significantly improve the chances of making savings last.
The fight over testamentary trusts looked settled. Then the draft legislation arrived. Hidden in a technical detail is a question that could force many families to rethink wills they thought were already future-proof.