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21 March 2026
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It’s not only products and business models that create wealth. Management teams make decisions on how to deploy capital and such actions drive vastly different outcomes over time.
Large companies supported and promoted by investment managers, brokers, analysts and investment banks have disappeared quickly sometimes. Retail investors should manage equity risk by diversification.
Loss aversion means some people avoid annuities because a premature death may lead to a loss of capital, but lifetime annuities with death benefits aim to address this problem.
The market rewards companies it thinks allocate capital well and similarly punishes those who don’t. It tries to anticipate the future and thus the changes in future returns on capital before they happen.
Financial leverage is already built into many real estate funds and companies, and borrowing even more to invest can produce spectacular results - on both the upside and the downside.
Many capital management techniques are used by LICs in an attempt to narrow or eliminate the discount at which the price trades relative to net tangible assets – all with varying success.
A more rational taxation system that supports home ownership but discourages asset speculation could provide greater financial support to first home buyers.
The capital gains tax discount is under review, but debate should go beyond its size. Its original purpose, design flaws and distortions suggest Australia could adopt a better, more targeted approach.
One in five Australians die before retirement and most have not set up their super properly so their loved ones can benefit from all their hard work and savings.
An ageing Australia is shifting the superannuation system’s focus from accumulation to the lifecycle of retirement. While these pressures have been anticipated for decades, they are now converging at scale and driving widespread industry change.
The 20 years after Peter Costello left Treasury have been deemed wasted...by Peter Costello. The missed opportunities for Australia began long before.
The best way to deal with the incoming Division 296 tax on superannuation is likely doing nothing. Earnings will be taxed regardless of where the money sits, so here are some important considerations.