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Wednesday, 23 September 2020
Recently trending Who's next? Discounts on LICs force managers to pivotFour simple things to do right nowWelcome to Firstlinks Edition 373Welcome to Firstlinks Edition 374Reporting season winners and losers in listed property trusts
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On the surface, a diversified fund looks the same as an SMSF with the same asset allocations. But to fund retirement, a member must sell units in the fund, whereas the cash balance is used in an SMSF.
Super counts for only 20% of the wealth of Australians. For retirement incomes, most younger people today will still receive most of their income from the age pension when they retire in three decades’ time.
The family home is the bedrock on which many retirement plans sit, with special tax and social security benefits. Many products generate an income stream from the home to make retirement more comfortable.
Most Australians are comfortable in retirement provided they own their homes. We’re failing retirees who rent but we also need to include more of the family home in the pension assets test.
Anyone can do their own personal investing, but what makes the skill required different from other professions? It's not easy even for the experts to consistently beat the market.
Do you risk paying a lot of tax in accumulation phase? Or, if you're in retirement phase, do you face the risk of outliving your asset pool? Two key things to consider in the low-rate world of today.
A shock to a portfolio at the wrong time can compromise a retirement plan where cash must be withdrawn each year. There are funds which attempt to trade some of the upside to reduce the downside.
The pre-Boomer generations faced global wars and depressions, but Australians born after 1946 have enjoyed prosperity. Superannuation, education, strong markets and surging property prices locked in gains.
We cannot see into the future, but here are some general guidelines on how much to save in super, and then how much you can spend to enjoy a good retirement. Start as soon as possible.
Many retirees simply drawdown the minimum amount allowed under the pension rules. While their money may last longer than using other strategies, is a frugal lifestyle the best way to live in later years?
Using the value of home equity built up over many years seems an obvious part of retirement planning, but reverse mortgages have been unsuccessful in Australia. Is it time for a fourth pillar of retirement income?
The design of superannuation is part of a social contract, and people who do not understand the long-term context are often offended that super funds should be tax-free in retirement. Don't blame Peter Costello.
The boards and managers of six high-profile LICs, frustrated by their shares trading at large discounts to asset value, have embarked on radical strategies to fix the problems. Will they work?
Markets have recovered in the last six months but most investors remain nervous about the economic outlook. Morningstar analysts provide four quick tips on how to navigate this uncertainty.
It was a milestone for strange times last week when the company with the longest record in the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) index, ExxonMobil, once the largest company in the world, was replaced by a software company, Salesforce. Only one company in the original DJIA exists today. As businesses are disrupted, how many of the current DJIA companies will disappear in the next decade or two?
Suddenly, it's the middle of September and we don't hear much about 'snap back' anymore. Now we have 'wind backs' and 'road maps'. Six months ago, I was flying back from Antarctica after two weeks aboard the ill-fated Greg Mortimer cruise ship, and then the world changed. So it's time to take your temperature again. Our survey checks your reaction to recent policies and your COVID-19 responses.
Many property trust results are better than expected, with the A-REIT sector on a dividend yield of 4.8%. But there's a wide variation by sector and the ability of tenants to pay the rent.
COVID-19 and the events of 2020 show why, more than ever, SMSF trustees need to prepare for the ‘unexpected’ by having an Enduring Power of Attorney in place. A Power of Attorney is not enough.