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30 April 2025
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Most superannuation products offered to working-age Australians are now performance-tested, and there are calls to extend these tests to account-based pensions. It's likely to result in more pain than gain, though.
While the performance of the largest super funds has been admirable, they’ve become so big that it will make it difficult for them to outperform their benchmarks in future. It will be important for you to pick your fund wisely.
In FY22, what drove the strongest superannuation performers, and how does size of the fund, the level of risk or investments in unlisted assets affect the outcome? They are major challenges to performance tests.
Investors can invest in the funds of our leading fund managers, or they can invest in the business itself. The success of the fund manager is 'twinned' to the performance of the fund, but what type of twins are they?
The focus is on Magellan for its investment performance and departure of the CEO, but Douglass says the pandemic, inflation, rising rates and Middle East tensions have not played out. Vindication is always long term.
When it comes to doing your homework on Exchange Traded Funds, understanding index construction is indispensable and the ideal way to find best-of-breed funds for your portfolio.
Rather than compare results against APRA's benchmark, large super funds which failed the YFYS performance test are using another measure such as a CPI+ target, with more favourable results to show their members.
Investors with a consistent investment approach which avoids chasing performance should reap rewards over time. A recent US study reveals a persistent gap between reported returns and what investors actually receive.
The YFYS annual performance test neither measures the return members achieve, nor adequately measures the risks a fund took in achieving the returns, yet it is likely to change the way funds behave.
Even the best long-term performing fund managers have shorter-term periods of underperformance. It’s not a failure, it’s a feature of the industry. Investors need patience when backing a good track record.
Peter Thornhill shows how his personal portfolio has thrived under an 'all-in equities' strategy, but Warren Buffett's favourite valuation indicator says stock markets are priced at their most extreme ever.
Fund performance varies over time. A fund may have strong capability and perform well over time, but it may fail the performance test at some point. The YFYS reforms create unwelcome and unintended consequences.
The famed investor says the rapid switch from globalisation to trade wars is the biggest upheaval in the investing environment since World War Two. And a new world requires a different investment approach.
Trump's tariffs and China's retaliatory strike have sent the Nasdaq into a bear market with the S&P 500 not far behind. What are the implications for the economy and markets, and what should investors do now?
Labor has announced a $2.3 billion Cheaper Home Batteries Program, aimed at slashing the cost of home batteries. The goal is to turbocharge battery uptake, though practical difficulties may prevent that happening.
Are you living your life by default or by design? It strikes me that many people are doing the former and living according to others’ expectations of them, leading to poor choices including with their finances.
Larry Fink is one of the smartest people in the finance industry. In his latest shareholder letter, the Blackrock CEO outlines his quest to become the biggest player in private assets and upend investor portfolios.
Every crisis throws up opportunities. Here are ideas to capitalise on this one, including ‘overbalancing’ your portfolio in stocks, buying heavily discounted LICs, and cherry picking bombed out sectors like oil and gas.