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16 March 2025

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Edition: 401

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Welcome to Firstlinks Edition 401

  • 31 March 2021
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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.

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16 ASX stocks to buy and hold forever, updated

This time last year, I highlighted 16 ASX stocks that investors could own indefinitely. One year on, I look at whether there should be any changes to the list of stocks as well as which companies are worth buying now. 

UniSuper’s boss flags a potential correction ahead

The CIO of Australia’s fourth largest super fund by assets, John Pearce, suggests the odds favour a flat year for markets, with the possibility of a correction of 10% or more. However, he’ll use any dip as a buying opportunity.

Is Gen X ready for retirement?

With the arrival of the new year, the first members of ‘Generation X’ turned 60, marking the start of the MTV generation’s collective journey towards retirement. Are Gen Xers and our retirement system ready for the transition?

2025-26 super thresholds – key changes and implications

The ABS recently released figures which are used to determine key superannuation rates and thresholds that will apply from 1 July 2025. This outlines the rates and thresholds that are changing and those that aren’t.  

Reform overdue for family home CGT exemption

The capital gains tax main residence exemption is no longer 'fit for purpose', due to its inequities, inefficiency, and complexity. Here are several suggestions for adapting or curtailing the concession.

So, we are not spending our super balances. So what!

A Grattan Institute report suggests lifetime annuities as a solution to people not spending their super balances. The issue is whether underspending is the real problem or a sign of more fundamental failings in our retirement system.

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