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19 September 2025
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The current net annual cost of superannuation tax subsidies is around $40 billion, growing to more than $110 billion by 2060. These subsidies have always been bad policy, representing a waste of taxpayers' money.
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.
The prospect of Australia's superannuation industry becoming larger than the domestic equity market, and expected merger activity among super funds, has raised concerns about common ownership and capital concentration.
APRA is pushing for executive remuneration to move to non-financial metrics, which will lead to poor outcomes for all stakeholders. Investors should resist and vote against such measures at AGMs.
The Royal Commission focusses heavily on poor incentives amid a sea of damnation and exhaustively-documented case studies, but does not provide answers, especially on the vexed issue of best interests.
The Royal Commission criticises incentives and rewards across financial services, but they have a place if they are properly structured. Just ask the legal people involved how their hard work is recognised.
Many people have changed their minds on whether the Royal Commission was a good idea. What the fact-finding reveals though is an age-old lesson in economics: outcomes gravitate toward incentives.
Australia could unlock smarter investment and greater equity by reforming housing tax concessions. Rethinking exemptions on the family home could benefit most Australians, especially renters and owners of modest homes.
The creator of the 4% rule for retirement withdrawals, Bill Bengen, has written a new book outlining fresh strategies to outlive your money, including holding fewer stocks in early retirement before increasing allocations.
This AI cycle feels less like a revolution and more like a rerun. Just like fibre in 2000, shale in 2014, and cannabis in 2019, the technology or product is real but the capital cycle will be brutal. Investors beware.
An explosion in low-skilled migration to Australia has depressed wages, killed productivity, and cut rental vacancy rates to near decades-lows. It’s time both sides of politics addressed the issue.
Are franking credits factored into share prices? The data suggests they're probably not, and there are certain types of stocks that offer higher franking credits as well as the prospect for higher returns.
LICs are continuing to struggle with large discounts and frustrated investors are wondering whether it’s worth holding onto them. This explains why the next 6-12 months will be make or break for many LICs.