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Edition: 401

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Welcome to Firstlinks Edition 401

  • 31 March 2021
  • 4

It's doubtful we will see short-term rates above 5% for at least a generation, maybe a lifetime. It's a weird thing to say for someone who spent his first decade in money markets with double-digit rates and a bank bill rate of 17.5% in 1990. Plus Deborah Ralston on retirement income, and why picking fund managers is like selecting hot cross buns.

Ralston on accessing equity in the family home

A member of the Retirement Income Review explains the focus on home equity. For homeowners at retirement, homes represent three to four times as much wealth as superannuation, but the average age at which mortgages are paid out has increased from 52 to 62.

To your taste: hot cross buns and hot, cross funds

What do hot cross buns and funds have in common? In both, there is no answer to which is the best, as their characteristics appeal to different people. Select the ones that suit your taste and appetite, maybe with added spice.

How a sidecar can keep super motoring along

Two sides of the super debate - 9.5% is enough with better use in retirement versus 12% is the minimum for a decent income - are deeply divided, but what if a radical solution could bridge the gap.

Active funds in Australia land some punches

In Australia, the preference for passive funds is nowhere near as strong as it is globally. Australians added to their active funds in 2019 and 2020, and there's a type of active fund that is especially benefitting.

Risk in retirement: five strategies for finding the right balance

There is a spectrum of retirement investment strategies ranging from ‘business as usual’ to more complex ‘income layering’. They allow for varying degrees of personalisation in managing retirement risks.

Let's be clear: sustainability isn’t free

Efforts to become more sustainable will challenge many companies and perhaps even bankrupt some. Sustainability drives new opportunities but brings risks for others, and companies which cannot adapt will suffer.

Indexation complication! Four changes you need to know

Several superannuation thresholds will be indexed from 1 July 2021, and it's critical to check the new opportunities to put more into the tax advantages of super. Some of the calculations are tricky, others easy.

Most viewed in recent weeks

It’s time for LICs to die

A high-profile dividend cut and a prominent fund manager’s apology have reignited a long-running debate. If investors can access similar exposures more cheaply and efficiently elsewhere, what exactly is keeping LICs alive?

Testamentary trusts survived the trust tax. The drafting battle has just begun.

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.

Is it time to bail on Australian stocks?

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 new capital gains tax trap for your portfolio

Investors have long accepted one portfolio rule without much question. A major tax shift could change that calculation entirely, forcing difficult trade-offs between risk, discipline and an overlooked cost lurking beneath.

How the typical Australian Family could save $844,350 in taxes

The value of a testamentary trust is not determined by wealth alone. Depending on circumstances, it can reduce the tax burden on inherited income, create efficiencies and help build intergenerational wealth.

The housing slide could become a crash

House prices are sliding across Australia, yet the most dangerous ingredient for a housing crash is still missing. If job losses surge amid growing economic risks, today's correction could become a historic property downturn.

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